Coming Clean about J.D. Martinez
J.D. Martinez is picking up right where he left off following the All Star break. Tuesday he smacked two homeruns and drove in three runs to bring his totals to 31 homers and 85 runs batted in. That goes along with his .323 batting average, .387 on-base percentage and .644 slugging.
And to think I had no interest in the Red Sox signing him.
Yes, I’m admitting it. I was wrong. I was so wrong.
It’s not that I thought Martinez was over-rated. I respected his game. The numbers Martinez put up in Detroit and Arizona were legit. And while his experience with the Green Monster was limited, I didn’t doubt he would do just fine in Fenway Park.
I was just stubborn. I wasn’t buying the talk about how baseball is played today. I didn’t believe in the homerun or go home approach. I was convinced teams could still win from timely hitting and advancing runners on the base paths.
It was only 2015 that the Kansas City Royals won the World Series despite hitting the seventh fewest homeruns in baseball. The Royals produced runs by having the third best batting average (.269), second best average with runners in scoring position (.281), and the best average with RISP and two outs (.278). KC excelled in situational hitting.
That’s what the Red Sox were missing in the playoffs. It wasn’t a matter of adding another great bat. When the pressure was on, Boston was choking at the plate.
In 2016 Boston was swept in three games by the Cleveland Indians. In that series the Red Sox left 20 men on base and were 3-21 with RISP (.142). A year later Boston fell to the Houston Astros 3-1, leaving 27 men on base and batting a healthy 12-30 (.400) that was buoyed by going 7-12 (.583) in the game three win. In the losses the Red Sox went 5-18 (.277).
So experience and maturity would make the Red Sox better hitters, particularly situational hitting, right?
Wrong. Jackie Bradley Jr. struggled to bat .200 for the first half. Rafael Devers is following his impressive rookie season with a .241 average. Eduardo Nunez was re-signed because he was so good last year, but is batting about 70 points behind 2017’s pace.
Andrew Benintendi and Mitch Moreland improved. Mookie Betts is having a MVP-caliber season. Xander Bogaerts is batting about the same as last season. But their improvements at the plate have been offset by their teammates.
The other concern about signing Martinez was buyer’s remorse. There have been some really bad acquisitions for the Red Sox recently. I didn’t want to see another one.
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hasn’t shied away from adding big names to the roster. Like all deals, you win some, you lose some.
Trading for Chris Sale couldn’t had been a better deal for Boston. He’s been the ace the Red Sox needed since David Price isn’t that person. While Price hasn’t been terrible, he hasn’t played up to expectations. Price can regain his reputation, but without a dominant game against the Yankees or in the playoffs, he won’t get much love from me.
At this point in his tenure with the Red Sox, I should give Dombrowski the benefit of the doubt on his decisions. But decisions made before Dombrowski’s arrival have left a mark on me. I still can’t get Pablo Sandoval and Carl Crawford in home whites out of my mind.
Signing Martinez would be the third year in a row Dombrowksi made a star player addition to the roster. As much as I want to Red Sox to do more than just reach the playoffs, I was convinced Boston didn’t have to buy their way to reach the next level. For once I wanted “Dollar” Dombrowski to chill on another big ticket purchase.
Clearly I don’t know what I was talking about.
Martinez is currently sporting a wins above replacement rating of 4.4. That might be underrating the impact he has had on the team. The guy is money with RISP. He makes homeruns look easy.
Just being in the lineup has made his teammates better. Betts gets more good pitches with Martinez batting ahead of him. J.D. even makes a difference in the locker room.
The afore-mentioned Bradley recently credited Martinez with helping him with his swing. Over his last 22 games J.B.J. is batting .304 with 19 RBIs and three homers. Time spent with hitting coaches Tim Hyers and Andy Barkett helped, but Bradley believes a conversation with Martinez contributed to his turnaround. Bradley told the Boston Herald:
“Just tapped me on my shoulder and said, ‘This is what I see, and I just want to show you,’” Bradley said. “Sure enough, he was able to help me diagnose some things. It’s still a work in progress. I was doing certain things for such a long time, it’s going to take time to try to improve.
“He’s been amazing. I don’t think words can describe what he’s done and things that he says to us as a team or individually as a hitter. There’s a reason why he’s so successful. He knows what he’s doing.”
Is this guy a dream come true? Makes me wonder if his first name is Jesus instead of Julio. Maybe a name change happens if Martinez delivers a World Series to Boston.
The J.D. in Martinez’s name has become Just Dingers in Boston. Me, I was just Just Dumb.
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