Beating the bushes
Minor league baseball teams for which Las Vegas resident J.D. Martin has pitched:
Burlington Indians (Appalachian League)
Columbus Red Stixx (South Atlantic League)
Kinston Indians (Carolina League) Buffalo Bisons (International League) Akron Aeros (Eastern League) Mahoning Valley Scrappers (New York-penn League)
Lake County Captains (South Atlantic League)
Syracuse Chiefs (International League)
New Orleans Zephyrs (Pacific Coast League)
Durham Bulls (International League) Samsung Lions (Korean Baseball Organization)
Lancaster Barnstormers (Atlantic League)
GLC Nationals (Gulf Coast League) Hagerstown Suns (South Atlantic League)
Potomac Nationals (Carolina League) Harrisburg Senators (Eastern League) Montgomery Biscuits (Southern League)
Tulsa Drillers (Texas League) Oklahoma City Dodgers (Pacific Coast League)
“I was with the Nationals, and they mentioned that they wanted me to start doing it,” he said of reinventing himself as a pitcher. “But I wasn’t ready. I still thought I was pretty young.”
Five years later when he got in touch with Charlie Hough, who won 261 major league games throwing the knuckleball and saved 61 more, Martin wasn’t that young anymore.
“I’m not sure if anyone has been to the big leagues as a conventional pitcher and then got back there as a knuckleballer,” he said.
“This is my 19th season. I just want to keep going. My wife (Erin) loves the game. I want my two kids (Tripp and Tuck) to remember me playing. And, ultimately, I want them to see me playing in the big leagues. When I was in the big leagues, they weren’t bornyet.”
Steven Wright of the Boston Red Sox is the only major leaguer still throwing a knuckler. Wright made the American League All-star team in 2016. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey won a Cy Young Award in 2012. Hoyt Wilhelm pitched until he was almost 50; Phil Niekro to 48. “Knucksie” won 318 games en route to the Hall of Fame.
This is why when the other pitchers seek respite in the clubhouse, J.D. Martin practices making baseballs dance in the oppressive August heat.
The media guide says he is pushing 37. The mind tells him that in knuckleball years, he’s still pretty much a kid.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ ronkantowski on Twitter.