Baseball Guru
03-26-2002, 02:25 PM
By George Diaz | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted March 25, 2002
JUPITER -- Forget the impersonal touch of a "Dear John" letter from New York Yankees impetuous boss man George Steinbrenner. Ignore the tabloid-spin of Yankees-done-me-wrong-acrimony in the Manhattan sports pages. Tino Martinez insists he isn't sticking pins in the heads of any Yankees bobblehead dolls.
Now can we just move on, please?
"It's a business," Martinez says from his corner cubbyhole in the St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse. "As much as I say it's a business and that's the way things work out, no reporter wants to write that. Everybody wants a dirt story. Nobody writes that it's a business and that's the way it works out."
Although the Yankees definitely got an upgrade by dropping Martinez and plugging in Jason Giambi at first base for $120 million, Martinez still provides power in the heart of any lineup.
He joins the Cardinals with impeccable credentials: four World Series rings plus 1,002 career RBIs and 801 RBIs in the past seven years.
That last total ranks sixth-best among active major-leaguers and is 44 more than that the guy he replaces at first base: Mark McGwire.
Yet there remains a distinct air of apathy in St. Louis, as if the Cardinals were forced to settle for a journeyman hack when they signed Martinez to a 3-year contract worth $27 million in December.
The crossfire includes age issues (Martinez is 34), suggestions that the team would have been better served by moving Albert Pujols from third to first base and concerns about Martinez being able to reach right field (330 feet from home plate) in Busch Stadium.
A spring-training average that dipped to .121 recently has added to another point of contention.
Mr. Stability
Although the angst over losing "Big Mac" continues, Martinez is not exactly ground chuck. While McGwire struggled with back issues and the Cardinals used 11 players at first base last season, Martinez continued to be a role model for consistency: He has averaged 150 games at first base over the past six years.
"He's got the best credentials in our clubhouse," St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa says. "And that's saying an awful lot."
Those credentials go far beyond whatever statistical comparisons you choose to make by thumbing through baseball abstracts. Martinez has an easygoing disposition that allows him to fit in comfortably in any baseball clubhouse, a place that always has the potential to implode into a Jerry Springer episode.
"He just goes about his business, works hard and is ready to roll," Cardinals second baseman Fernando Vina says.
Given Martinez's profile as a gentleman and dependable company man, it is easy to see why the New York media cast him as the innocent fall guy in Steinbrenner's master plan for world domination. Martinez didn't have much choice but to let things play out while Giambi and the Yankees did their courtship dance in the off-season.
To officially sever ties, Steinbrenner sent Martinez a goodbye letter, offering him a job in the organization once he retires.
"I really didn't expect anything," Martinez says. "That's the way they do things and the way it is."
Nice fit in St. Louis
Once his viable options -- including Atlanta and Boston -- diminished, Martinez became a natural fit in St. Louis. He is a graduate of Tampa Catholic High School, the same school that La Russa attended. Martinez's father and La Russa are close friends.
"This is a young team that knows how to win," Martinez says. "They play well together. A bunch of hard-working guys, not a whole lot of flashy guys, no superstars, just guys who go out and do their job and I felt I could fit in right in to that system."
For now, while the St. Louis stores stock up on Martinez merchandise, he continues to graciously sign items that still bear the New York trademark.
It's an adjustment for everybody in the Martinez family, given the logistical advantages of living in Tampa, home of the Yankees' spring training camp. Martinez lives in an affluent South Tampa suburb close enough to enjoy off-season leisure time with good friends Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada of the Yankees.
During the Christmas season, after the deal had been sealed, Caridad Prado, one of Martinez's aunts, kindly took Posada aside and said, "I'm not praying for you any more!"
The Martinez family was now in Cardinal Heaven.
"He was happy in New York," says Juan Prado, a cousin of Martinez's wife, Maria. "If he had a preference, he would have rather stayed there. I knew he was disappointed but understood it was a business, and the Yankees were going to do what they do: go after prime-time players."
Martinez's family will stay in Tampa to begin the season. Then Maria and the children -- ages 9, 8 and 6 -- will join Tino in St. Louis once the kids are finished with school in Tampa.
"They don't really understand," Martinez says. "They knew I played in Seattle. They knew I played in New York, so they just think that every now and then you get traded or something happens."
That Seattle reference is significant for those who continue to wonder about the man taking Big Mac's spot at first. Martinez joined the Yankees in 1996, and that caused considerable angst in the core of the Big Apple.
He was replacing another guy at first base.
Perhaps you've heard of him: Don Mattingly.
Posted March 25, 2002
JUPITER -- Forget the impersonal touch of a "Dear John" letter from New York Yankees impetuous boss man George Steinbrenner. Ignore the tabloid-spin of Yankees-done-me-wrong-acrimony in the Manhattan sports pages. Tino Martinez insists he isn't sticking pins in the heads of any Yankees bobblehead dolls.
Now can we just move on, please?
"It's a business," Martinez says from his corner cubbyhole in the St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse. "As much as I say it's a business and that's the way things work out, no reporter wants to write that. Everybody wants a dirt story. Nobody writes that it's a business and that's the way it works out."
Although the Yankees definitely got an upgrade by dropping Martinez and plugging in Jason Giambi at first base for $120 million, Martinez still provides power in the heart of any lineup.
He joins the Cardinals with impeccable credentials: four World Series rings plus 1,002 career RBIs and 801 RBIs in the past seven years.
That last total ranks sixth-best among active major-leaguers and is 44 more than that the guy he replaces at first base: Mark McGwire.
Yet there remains a distinct air of apathy in St. Louis, as if the Cardinals were forced to settle for a journeyman hack when they signed Martinez to a 3-year contract worth $27 million in December.
The crossfire includes age issues (Martinez is 34), suggestions that the team would have been better served by moving Albert Pujols from third to first base and concerns about Martinez being able to reach right field (330 feet from home plate) in Busch Stadium.
A spring-training average that dipped to .121 recently has added to another point of contention.
Mr. Stability
Although the angst over losing "Big Mac" continues, Martinez is not exactly ground chuck. While McGwire struggled with back issues and the Cardinals used 11 players at first base last season, Martinez continued to be a role model for consistency: He has averaged 150 games at first base over the past six years.
"He's got the best credentials in our clubhouse," St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa says. "And that's saying an awful lot."
Those credentials go far beyond whatever statistical comparisons you choose to make by thumbing through baseball abstracts. Martinez has an easygoing disposition that allows him to fit in comfortably in any baseball clubhouse, a place that always has the potential to implode into a Jerry Springer episode.
"He just goes about his business, works hard and is ready to roll," Cardinals second baseman Fernando Vina says.
Given Martinez's profile as a gentleman and dependable company man, it is easy to see why the New York media cast him as the innocent fall guy in Steinbrenner's master plan for world domination. Martinez didn't have much choice but to let things play out while Giambi and the Yankees did their courtship dance in the off-season.
To officially sever ties, Steinbrenner sent Martinez a goodbye letter, offering him a job in the organization once he retires.
"I really didn't expect anything," Martinez says. "That's the way they do things and the way it is."
Nice fit in St. Louis
Once his viable options -- including Atlanta and Boston -- diminished, Martinez became a natural fit in St. Louis. He is a graduate of Tampa Catholic High School, the same school that La Russa attended. Martinez's father and La Russa are close friends.
"This is a young team that knows how to win," Martinez says. "They play well together. A bunch of hard-working guys, not a whole lot of flashy guys, no superstars, just guys who go out and do their job and I felt I could fit in right in to that system."
For now, while the St. Louis stores stock up on Martinez merchandise, he continues to graciously sign items that still bear the New York trademark.
It's an adjustment for everybody in the Martinez family, given the logistical advantages of living in Tampa, home of the Yankees' spring training camp. Martinez lives in an affluent South Tampa suburb close enough to enjoy off-season leisure time with good friends Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada of the Yankees.
During the Christmas season, after the deal had been sealed, Caridad Prado, one of Martinez's aunts, kindly took Posada aside and said, "I'm not praying for you any more!"
The Martinez family was now in Cardinal Heaven.
"He was happy in New York," says Juan Prado, a cousin of Martinez's wife, Maria. "If he had a preference, he would have rather stayed there. I knew he was disappointed but understood it was a business, and the Yankees were going to do what they do: go after prime-time players."
Martinez's family will stay in Tampa to begin the season. Then Maria and the children -- ages 9, 8 and 6 -- will join Tino in St. Louis once the kids are finished with school in Tampa.
"They don't really understand," Martinez says. "They knew I played in Seattle. They knew I played in New York, so they just think that every now and then you get traded or something happens."
That Seattle reference is significant for those who continue to wonder about the man taking Big Mac's spot at first. Martinez joined the Yankees in 1996, and that caused considerable angst in the core of the Big Apple.
He was replacing another guy at first base.
Perhaps you've heard of him: Don Mattingly.