Healthy, stronger Martin absolutely vital to team’s hopes
DUNEDIN, FLA.— The Blue Jays have three position players in the lineup that will earn $20-million plus this coming season: third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and catcher Russell Martin.
With Tulowitzki’s ankle still questionable and with a healthy Donaldson joining the rest of the full squad in workouts Monday, veteran catcher Russell Martin is ready to play right now.
At the advanced baseball age of 35, Martin is still discovering what his body is capable of. Last year, he reported to camp after an off-season in which he trimmed down with yoga and other non-traditional training techniques morphing towards sleek and fast. But he found himself wearing down as the season progressed.
So in response to that disappointment, he’s back lifting weights to increase his strength.
“I felt like last year I showed up and was in good shape,” Martin said. “I was lean. I felt good. I just felt like this year I wanted to get back and feel a little bit stronger. I put on a little bit of muscle, and hopefully that can help me through the year. Add that foundation of strength, compared to feeling lean and quick and fast.
“I just feel like you wear down easier that way. But if you’re a little bit stronger that can set the tone. Then you can ease your way through the season and just maintain instead of having to fight to keep that mass.”
Martin would not be specific on the number of games he expects to start in 2018, but he points at his season with the Pittsburgh Pirates four years ago. He believes he was at his most effective, and he played 111 games.
“I’m going to sit down with the guys who have been through it, the guys that have been 35 (years old) and ask them questions, what they can suggest and what they feel is the best way to do it. Because as a player you want to play as much as possible.
“And how you’re managed, I guess that’s where the manager’s job kicks in. That’s why he gets paid the big bucks. My job is to just be ready whenever my name’s in the lineup. My goal is to be ready every single day. Is it realistic to play every single day? Probably not, but that’s my focus.”
The number of starts for Martin can also depend on the quality of the backup catcher. Last season’s ultraslow start was a group effort, but there certainly was a glaring weak- ness behind Martin on the depth chart until light-hitting Luke Maile arrived and took over the role, posting a 21-15 record as the starter.
“You back off only if you have the luxury of backing off,” Martin opined.
“If we have a backup that’s healthy and capable, and I believe we are going to have that, it shouldn’t be a problem. When I look back, my best year in the last five years was in Pittsburgh. I think I was catching two out of three games, that type of thing. I felt like my body felt good all the way through the season, so who knows? We’ll see.”
Martin said he does listen to the club’s high performance people, picking and choosing his personal off-season fitness program to suit his own purposes.
“At spring training last year I remember having some issues with my shoulder and it was frustrating. I didn’t really know what it was from. I’d done a lot of yoga and my body and mind felt great. But you throw a catcher’s glove on and just repetition after repetition, it started fatiguing. What could I do to prevent that from happening is just get a little bit stronger.
“I feel like I gather information from all the places I’ve worked out in my life and I kind of just pick and choose the things I really like. Part high performance, part (athletic trainer) Brett Fischer, part Jose Bautista. So I get stuff from just about everywhere, and the stuff that makes sense to me and that feels good I keep.”
Martin does not believe the club needs to do anything radically different to ensure they don’t have the same slow start out of the gate as a year ago. He admits to personal frustration at last year’s camp surrounding his not being allowed to play for Canada in the World Baseball Classic, but that’s all in the past.
“I really wish I knew what was different between last year in our preparation,” Martin said. “Really, the spring training felt the same as it did the two previous years. I don’t know. The key is not to really think about the start of last year. Start fresh. It’s a new season. I’m not throwing guarantees out there, but I strongly doubt it’s going to be the same type of start as last year.”
It seems as if Martin would be just fine with around 110 starts behind the plate. To reach that goal, he could easily hand off one of the five starters, say Marco Estrada, to the backup, then rely on manager John Gibbons to set up a schedule where he doesn’t have to catch day games after night games to keep him fresh.
If the Jays are going to contend again in the AL East, they will need Martin to have fuel in the tank through September.