Business world was Martinez’s road back
Joe Martinez played professional baseball for 10 years after graduating from Boston College with a finance degree in 2005. The righthander spent time with five organizations and appeared in 21 major league games. He picked up a World Series ring with the 2010 Giants along the way.
As his playing career started to wind down, Martinez knew he wanted to stay in the game in some capacity. So he came up with a plan. The first step was to get out of baseball entirely.
Martinez took a job with Morgan Stanley in New York before moving to PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2016.
That seems counterintuitive. Leave baseball to find a job in baseball?
But Martinez saw how the game changed and became more data-driven during his playing career. He decided the path back to baseball was through the business world.
“I wanted to do things that would make me more attractive to employers and hopefully a baseball team,” Martinez said. “I needed to learn the skills that people who had been working had. I didn’t have the traditional work experience or know-how to work in a corporate environment. How to do certain types of analysis and build [statistical] models.
“Working for PwC in consulting helped me develop those skills and I kept in touch with folks who were working in baseball.”
Craig Breslow was one of Martinez’s contacts. But it proved to be another former pitcher, Chris Young, who called with a job offer.
Young, who at the time was Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of baseball operations, hired Martinez to be on his staff in 2020.
Logistically, it was perfect. Martinez didn’t have to move his family from their home in New Jersey and his new office was eight blocks from his old one in Manhattan.
Martinez, who is now vice president of on-field strategy, was part of the wave of former players hired by commissioner Rob Manfred to bring a different perspective and open lines of communication with active players.
Manfred’s relationship with the players has been rocky over the years, particularly during the 2022 lockout. Martinez, Rajai Davis, and CC Sabathia are among the former players working for the league and building bridges.
“There’s been a significant effort from the commissioner himself to address that,” Martinez said. “He gets his fair share of complaints, but he’s the commissioner, right? When you’re the leader of baseball, people are passionate about it.”
Part of Martinez’s job is working directly with teams, coaching staffs, players, and umpires. He played a leading role in helping institute the rules changes last season, even getting back on the mound to demonstrate certain aspects.
He also briefs the owners who sit on MLB’s competition committee, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner among them.
The changes were almost universally welcomed last season as game times were reduced by 24 minutes on average, there was more action, and scoring increased.
MLB tweaked the rules a bit after the season to account for game times increasing as the season went on.
“It’s like owning a house,” Martinez said. “You’re always trying to make small improvements to make sure it stays in good shape. We want to produce a game that fans really like. To the extent we can, we want to stay there.”
The next step will be to decide whether the league goes to a computerized system of calling balls and strikes.
The league has experimented with two systems in Triple A. One would be to have all pitches called by the ABS system. The other would be a challenge system that allows the batter, catcher, or pitcher to dispute an umpire’s call with ABS making the determination.
ABS will be back in Triple A this season. Martinez indicated there could be refinements to the strike zone after high walk rates last season.
“We try to design the rules so that it’s fair to the player population across the board,” Martinez said. “We get feedback from farm directors and the players themselves.”
So where does this lead for Martinez? He turns 41 next month and has the kind of résumé that leads to opportunities.
“It’s nice to be in a position where I feel I have an impact and help steer the game to what the best version of it is,” Martinez said. “If you told me a couple of years ago, I’d be doing that, I’d be thrilled and I feel that way. It’s actually happening.”
Maybe it eventually leads to working for a team or moving up within the commissioner’s office. But his plan worked. Martinez left baseball and it helped him come back.
STORY TIME Shortstop having productive winter
As the Red Sox endeavor to improve their rotation, the lineup has big holes, as well. With Alex Verdugo in pinstripes and Adam Duvall and Justin Turner free agents, the Sox have lost 57 home runs and 208 RBIs from last season.
Enter Trevor Story?
The Sox believe Story will have a bounce-back season after hitting .203 with a .566 OPS over 43 games last year following his return from elbow surgery.
“[Hitting coach] Pete Fatse saw Trevor in person and was blown away,” said manager Alex Cora. “He has his strength back and is hitting the ball again.”
Story has had a rough two seasons with the Sox. He missed most of spring training in 2022 after signing on March 23. Then he left camp when his wife had a baby.
Story got off to a slow start, hitting .224 with a .720 OPS through the end of June. Injuries limited him to 25 games over the rest of the season.
Story didn’t return until Aug. 8 last year but was overmatched by fastballs.
A healthy offseason allowed him to add muscle and improve his swing. At 31 and finally healthy, Story could return to All-Star form.
That would be a big step toward improving the lineup.
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
Story hosted a minicamp for middle infielders near his home in Texas this past week and worked with
Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, and
Nick Yorke. Triston Casas was on hand, too.
Marcelo Mayer initially was scheduled to attend but the decision was made to have him continue with physical therapy for the impingement in his left shoulder.
Mayer was shut down on Aug. 4 after struggling at the plate in Double A. He then had a setback in November.
There are no indications the 21year-old will require surgery.
Grissom mixed in well with his new teammates. Story called Cora to say how impressed he was by the 23-yearold second baseman who came over from the Braves in the Chris Sale trade.
He won’t be handed the job, but the Sox clearly hope Grissom will claim the position during spring training.
It was hardly a surprise the Sox canceled their usual town hall at Winter Weekend after John Henry, Sam Kennedy ,and Chaim Bloom were loudly booed last season.
The Sox will instead have Jonathan Papelbon hosting “The Cinco Ocho Show” with NESN’s Tom Caron on Friday in Springfield.
Papelbon is a funny guy and all, but the more savvy move would have been to put the executives on the stage to take some boos then answer questions.
Fans in attendance and watching at home would have respected ownership’s willingness to take what at this point is deserved heat. They could explain how they plan to return the team to contention, assuming there is a plan.
Fairly or not, the Sox owners appear disengaged in the eyes of many. They come off particularly poorly when compared to Robert Kraft, who took every question after moving on from Bill Belichick.
Tickets for Winter Weekend are $95 and the people who attend are diehard fans. They deserve to be heard.
As for Papelbon, he should be entertaining and perhaps controversial.
He appeared on the “Foul Territory” podcast with former big leaguers Erik Kratz and A.J. Pierzynski this past week and delivered a series of gems.
His comments included ripping Verdugo.
“I did 30 games with NESN last year. I’m doing pregame and this dude would come at the same time that I showed up to the field,” Papelbon said. “You’re late. Nobody wants to play with those kinds of players. He more or less rode himself out of town.”
Papelbon feels the “culture has to change” for the Sox to win.
“I’ve always been a big believer that culture eats analytics for breakfast,” he said.
Papelbon also believes Rafael Devers needs to take a bigger role in changing the atmosphere around the team.
“Something has to happen,” Papelbon said.
Papelbon didn’t have kind words for former teammate J.D. Drew.
“One of the best talented lefthanded hitters you could see,” Papelbon said. “But didn’t give a [expletive]. Didn’t care. Had no motivation. Made $150 million and made one All-Star Game. That didn’t work in our clubhouse.”
Papelbon was close. Drew made $108 million and was on one All-Star team.
Papelbon sees the Sox as a fringe contender and “that’s a Kennedy thing.”
He said the team has a lot of work to do to improve the roster and wishes they would spend more.
On the positive side, Papelbon said Masataka Yoshida has a swing built for Fenway Park and the Sox shouldn’t trade him.
Pierzynski is a former Sox player and so is Kratz — sort of. The Sox claimed him off waivers from the Royals while in Kansas City on June 21, 2015. He was added to the roster June 23 and was in uniform for two games without playing before being designated for assignment on June 25.
Both have taken well to the media side of the game since retiring. Their podcast is entertaining.
The Cardinals hired Bloom this past week as adviser to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.
Good for Bloom getting back in the game and he will be a helpful resource for Mozeliak. But it underscores the point that the Red Sox should have hired an adviser in 2019 or ‘20.
Bloom was a 36-year-old coming from a small-market team with a modest fan base when he took the job.
His three predecessors in Boston —
Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington ,and
Dave Dombrowski — had advisers at their disposal. But Bloom never did.
Bloom was asked about the idea and said it was an option but they weren’t able to find the right fit. That’s fair, but it also didn’t seem like it was a priority for anybody in the organization.
The Yankees, Rangers, Diamondbacks, and Rays are among the teams who employ senior advisers. Craig Breslow would benefit if the Sox joined that list.
Cora will be in Boston early this coming week to take part in the team’s annual rookie development program. He will be joined by the coaching staff to set plans for spring training before the group goes to Springfield for Winter Weekend.
First baseman Michael Chavis, one in a string of missed first-round picks by the Red Sox from 2012-16, took a minor league deal with the Mariners that includes an invitation to spring training.
The Sox selected eight players in the first round or supplemental first round during those years. None are still in the organization and only Andrew Benintendi has been a successful big leaguer to this point.
Trey Ball, Brian Johnson, Pat Light, and Deven Marrero are out of baseball.
Michael Kopech is a fringe starter with the White Sox and Jay Groome has a 5.56 ERA in 100 minor league games.
BetOnline has the Red Sox with an over/under of 80½ wins, the worst in the division by four wins. Only 11 teams are lower.
ETC. Bauer attempts to make return
Free agent Trevor Bauer is on a bit of a media contrition tour, hoping he can return to the major leagues after pitching in Japan last season.
Bauer, who turns 33 on Wednesday, has not appeared in a major league game since June 28, 2021. The righthander was suspended for 324 games for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy, a punishment eventually reduced to 194 games on appeal.
Another former Dodgers pitcher, Julio Urías, also is a free agent. He was released in August following a domestic violence incident.
Los Angeles authorities have said Urías did not commit a felony but could be charged with a misdemeanor.
MLB is investigating the situation. Urías served a 20-game domestic violence suspension in 2019. No player has had two such suspensions.
No teams have indicated an interest in Bauer or Urías. The backlash for signing either would be significant.
Extra bases
The Orioles have taken a leap forward organizationally in recent years. They will check off another milestone with the opening of a player development complex in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. The facility, which is in Guerra, includes three fields and housing for 100 players. Baltimore lagged behind the industry for years with its Latin American program, only occasionally developing talent from the region . . . The Orioles and Jacob Webb are potentially going to arbitration over a $75,000 difference. Webb wants $1 million and the team stayed firm at $925,000. They couldn’t split the difference? . . . The Marlins have not signed any free agents to a major league contract. Their additions have all been via trade or waiver claims. Miami obtained infielder Vidal Brujan and righthander Calvin Faucher from the Rays and catcher Christian Bethancourt from the Guardians. Righthander Roddery Muñoz came over from the Pirates . . . According to NCAA statistics, LSU averaged 11,188 fans last season. The Athletics averaged 10,276. Meanwhile, Oakland has yet to release renderings for its proposed new stadium in Las Vegas. That ballpark is not expected to open until the 2028 season . . . Condolences to the family and friends of Billy Gardner, who died this month at 96. The New London, Conn., native played 10 seasons in the majors, including 89 games for the Red Sox from 1962-63. Gardner stayed with the Sox as a minor league coach and manager and was on the major league staff as third base coach from 1965-66. Gardner then managed the Twins (1981-85) and Royals (1987). His son, Billy Jr., is a longtime minor league manager who was with the Red Sox from 1996-2002 . . . Happy birthday to Sonny Siebert, who is 87. The righthander was 140-114 with a 3.21 ERA from 1964-75 and threw a no-hitter for Cleveland in 1966. A two-time All-Star, Siebert was with the Red Sox from 1969-73 and won 57 games. Seibert also hit 12 home runs over his career. He is the oldest living former Padre and Ranger.