A SPRING IN THEIR STEPS
Gradually builds new role with blessings of his teammates, management
BRADENTON, Fla. — Jeff Banister has known Starling Marte for a while. The 55-yearold baseball lifer was the Pirates’ minor league field coordinator in 2007, when the Pirates signed Marte out of the Dominican Republic. When Banister returned to the Pirates this year after managing the Texas Rangers for four seasons, he saw growth, and the potential for leadership. So Banister let Marte know it. “I just think Marte has all those components to possibly take that next step, to help be one of the guys on this team that leads actions, words and effort,” said Banister, now a special assistant to baseball operations, prowling the spring training fields in uniform.
Marte appreciated the gesture from Banister. First-base coach Kimera Bartee, who also coaches baserunning and the outfielders and thus spends a lot of time with Marte, has had similar conversations with him, and he said he learned from other players as well. But entering this season, Marte said, he began to feel it himself.
“When we talk about leadership, this was not something that, I was told you’re the new leader, or, ‘Hey I want to be the new leader,’” Marte said in Spanish, with interpreter Mike Gonzalez translating. “This is something that organically, naturally just happens. You recognize as a ballplayer, this is an opportunity for me to help these guys.”
Three seasons ago, Marte was an All-Star. Two seasons ago, he served an 80-game suspension for a positive steroid test. Last season, he hit 20 homers and stole 33 bases — one of three players to go 20/30, with Boston’s Mookie Betts and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez being the others — but also found himself benched due to lack of effort. Now, the 30-year-old center fielder said he recognizes the
responsibility that accompanies a player with his combination of experience and production.
“My life experiences have taught me that you reach a point in life where you being that voice for your people [is important],” he said. “You begin being that voice for your community, your teammates, etc. That’s something that I embrace. Whether they told me or not, I already knew that going into this season.”
Marte played for years next to Andrew McCutchen, who conveyed what he needed to with actions rather than words. Marte prefers this style as well.
“I really believe that it’s the type of leadership that fits my character the most,” he said. “It’s my behavior. You see me out there. I like to have fun, I like to have a great time. But internally I’m a quiet person and I like to just be still, be quiet, be very chill and that’s the way that I like to lead.”
Marte does still like to have fun. Monday, he turned his bat into a sword, jabbing and parrying with Gregory Polanco by the batting cage. And he’s the best athlete on the team; it’s hard to question his work ethic. But there are gaps in his game, and he has plans this year to close them.
Marte walked only 5.8 percent of the time last year, which ranked among the bottom 25 qualified hitters in baseball. He swung at 36.1 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, ranking 115th out of 140 qualified hitters. As a result, he didn’t get on base as frequently — .327, compared to a .341 career OBP and a .362 OBP during his All-Star season — and his blazing speed doesn’t help when he’s returning to the dugout.
“My primary focus,” he said, “is to always make sure that I’m getting on base.” How?
“Just really study pitchers and evaluate pitchers,” he said. “When I’m in the ondeck circle, when I’m in the dugout seeing some of my other teammates facing that pitcher, just evaluating the pitch selection, where the pitches are landing, how our hitters are responding to that.
Marte is also self-aware. He knows he stands close to the plate and that the load in his swing brings his hands near the strike zone. He gets hit a ton. If that’s how he has to reach base, he said, he’ll take it.
That selfless attitude could help his new mentality this season.
“Leadership takes no days off, whether you’re playing well, not playing well, you’re injured or healthy,” Banister said. “It’s the consistency of who you are on a daily basis that allows you to establish yourself as one of those guys.”