Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
For the love of the game
Baseball has never been a chore for Casey Martin. He relishes every day he’s on the field.
“There’s never been a day when I didn’t enjoye it,” said Martin, who is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps baseball player of the year for 2017. “I’ve always had a passion for it.”
Martin, who belted 10 home runs and batted .595 for the Lonoke Jackrabbits this spring, is headed to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in the fall. Eventually, professional baseball will come into play for the 5-11, 175-pounder.
“Even when I was little I wanted to play pro ball,” Martin said. “And I also wanted to play for the Razorbacks. God blessed me with the opportunity to do both, hopefully.”
Lonoke Coach Chris Foor says Martin has the mindset to play at a very high level.
“He doesn’t give up on anything,” Foor said. “And the one thing that impressed me about his tenacity is that it carried over to everybody else. That kind of attitude breeds. That’s his biggest attribute to me. You might get him once, but the chances of you getting him two or three times are very, very low. He’s going to make an adjustment. He’s going to bow his back and he’s going to find a way. That’s what makes him special.”
Foor said Martin reached base in 33 of 34 games this season and that there were only two games in which Martin failed to get a hit.
Martin made 132 plate appearances this spring, thanks to the fact that Foor made his top player the leadoff batter. In 111 official at-bats, Martin banged out 66 hits.
“By doing that, [other teams] weren’t able to walk him as much,” Foor said. “His supporting cast were on base quite a bit this year. We had a very high on-base percentage. If they walked Casey, then they had to face another kid who was likely to get on base. I think that helped.”
Opposing pitchers took their chances at pitching to Martin, who reached base via the walk 19 times and twice more when he was hit by a pitch. Martin stole 34 bases.
“I really didn’t expect to hit as much as I did,” Martin said. “But I’m happy it worked out the way it did.”
“With his speed, if they walked him, he was going to be on third anyway,” Foor said. “If he gets on base at the start of the game, you’ve set a tone for the game.”
Foor said the Razorbacks are getting more than just a quality baseball player.
“I think what’s important to Casey is that he’s cared about and wanted,” Foor said. “He was raised by a family that is really caring, a tight-knit group. I feel like we’ve gotten really close. He’s been out of school but I’ve talked to him every day. No matter where Casey ends up, if he feels he’s wanted then they’ve got a very special young man.”
Martin finished his final high school season with 52 runs, 29 extra-base hits and 32 RBI while striking out only 9 times.
“I’m pleased with [the numbers], but at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter,” Martin said. “I’m still getting to play the game of baseball that I love.”