Martin says L. A. is ‘as good as it gets’
Veteran catcher gets another shot at a Series
Russell Martin knows the end of his playing career is coming fast, so it’s especially gratifying the final scene is playing out in style.
It’s a much more invigorating and enjoyable late summer for the 36- year- old Canadian catcher than it was a year ago when he was putting in time before the Blue Jays did the inevitable and dealt him in the off-season to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If this is, indeed, the rabidly approaching twilight of his career — as Martin broadly hinted in a chat here in the Dodgers dugout — it’s not a bad way to go out.
“It’s as good as it gets,” Martin said of his primary role as backup catcher with the National League- leading Dodgers, the current Las Vegas betting favourite to win the World Series. “With professionals like Clayton Kershaw, one of the best to ever do it, he was always special when he started, but he really turned himself into something even more special.
“I never really wanted to leave ( Toronto.) But L.A. is a beautiful place. The weather’s great. It’s a great place to play baseball.”
Toiling for the championship-chasing Dodgers is certainly a far cry from the way he wound down his time with the Jays — somewhat bitter and uninspired as he rode the bench while the team played rookie Danny Jansen most nights.
Shortly after Jays general manager Ross Atkins told Martin the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies were interested in acquiring him
in January, he was sent to the Dodgers, the team that selected him in the 17 th round of the 2002 draft.
“They were pretty up front with the fact that they kind of wanted to rebuild and just going young and giving ( prospects) a taste to have them progress,” Martin said of his unceremonious end in Toronto. “When you have a veteran catcher who is on the last year of his contract and paid a lot of money, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep him. I kind of understood the business side of it.
“Am I saddened? At some point you have to make decisions on whether you want to rebuild. Players get older and they start making more money. And if they perform, they get even more expensive. So there are decisions that have to be made.”
If Martin was bitter about his ending with the Jays, he certainly seems over it now. And he definitely moved on mentally when he showed up in Glendale, Ariz., for Dodgers training camp in the spring.
“This is a really special team,” Martin said of the two- time defending NL champs. “From the first day of spring training, seeing how organized the team was and walking into a clubhouse that had just been to the playoffs and the World Series, there was a confidence there.
“And you are playing with a bunch of guys knowing how good they are. I’m kind of in a different position. I’m used to being more of an involved part. I do have a part on this team, but I’m not a focal point. Definitely part of me wishes I could be more of a part of it.”
The veteran, who was such a popular and integral part of the Jays playoff teams in 2015 and 2016, certainly feels at home in Southern California. In the trophy cases outside the Dodgers clubhouse, his Gold Glove and Silver Slugger trophies are on display and even though his role is limited, he’s relishing the opportunity.
That leads to inevitable talk of what he’ ll do next season. Martin will be a free agent and the US$ 16.4 million the Jays are still paying him ( out of his $ 20- million salary) will be collected.
Martin clearly didn’ t enjoy playing out the string last season for multiple reasons. The team was bad and getting dismantled and he wasn’t getting playing time. A backup role on the Dodgers is one thing for a veteran used to more, but somewhere else? We’ll see.
“I don’t know, man,” he said when asked if this is it. “My body, I know I could do it physically. It’s going to be: do I have the desire and am I going to enjoy myself doing it? I don’t know. I’m gonna have to see how it plays out.
“I really enjoy the game, but I enjoy playing the game. I like competing, but having a lesser role being on a team like this is fun. But if I wasn’t on a winning team, I don’t know. I’d have to be really selective where I would go. I would have to have that perfect fit and who knows if that’s going to be available?”
As for his four seasons in Toronto, Martin is comfortable cherishing the first two and flushing the last.
“They are fresh in the memory bank,” Martin said. “Those were super- special moments. Any time you get to the playoffs, they make for memories. Those two years were a lot of fun — good clubhouse with a lot of energy. And the crowds were amazing.”