We want a better year from Tino Martinez!!!
01/27/2003 1:56 pm ET
Martinez planning for strong 2003
By Jared Hoffman / MLB.com
ST. LOUIS -- Nobody wanted Tino Martinez to get off to strong start in 2002 more than Martinez himself, so you can bet nobody was more disappointed in what happened than Martinez himself.
In his first year with the Cardinals, Martinez had one of his worst offensive seasons. He hit .262 -- his second-lowest mark in the past seven seasons -- and failed to drive in at least 90 runs for the first time since the strike-shortened 1994 season.
When Martinez hit only .200 in April, it magnified the pressure he felt trying to prove himself to a new set of fans and teammates.
"I was excited to come here, and when I got off to a slow start, I beat myself up and tried to force things," said Martinez. "When you struggle early on in the season with a new team, it's tough on you mentally. You want to do so well, especially for these great fans that are here. It gets frustrating. I beat myself up a little too much."
New Cardinals catcher Joe Girardi had a locker next to Tino Martinez for four seasons at Yankee Stadium and believes Martinez's second season in St. Louis will be a lot smoother and productive.
"I think Tino wanted to really get off to a good start here because he was filling someone's big shoes when he came here," said Girardi. "He did that in New York and ended up putting up a lot of good years. When he came to New York, he was filling the shoes of Don Mattingly and that was really difficult because Donny was called Donny Baseball in New York."
The Cardinals don't need Martinez to hit the 500-foot home runs his predecessor at first base, Mark McGwire, did or get into a home run chase with Sammy Sosa. St. Louis will be more than happy if Martinez returns to the 100-RBI form he displayed with regularity in New York.
Martinez never seemed to get into an RBI groove with St. Louis last season. The two months Martinez had his highest batting averages were his worst RBI months. Martinez hit .297 in June and .288 in August, but drove in only eight runs each of those months. Among Major League first basemen, Martinez ranked only 16th with 75 RBIs.
While Martinez didn't post the numbers he wanted during the regular season, he achieved his most important goal -- helping the Cardinals return to the postseason. Martinez and his teammates had their season end with a thud in the form of a five-game loss to the Giants in the NLCS. Martinez batted just .080 (2-for-25) with one RBI in his first postseason with the Cardinals.
"We had a great chance to go to the World Series last year and probably win it, but it didn't work out that way so it was definitely a disappointing offseason," said Martinez. "I know I have high expectations for myself and this team."
Martinez isn't shy about letting people know those expectations include a trip to the Word Series.
"I think this team having been in the postseason the last (three) years and done well, I think we're ready to break through and get to that next level," said Martinez.
Martinez has been going through his normal vigorous workout routine in the offseason but plans on making an adjustment to his swing before the team gets to Jupiter, Fla.
"Last year, I tried to pull the ball too much early in the season and got myself into a big hole," said Martinez. "I'll start trying to hit the ball the other way a little bit more going into Spring Training. I need to get back to using the whole field, and hopefully, I can get that accomplished going into Spring Training."
Girardi says he would expect nothing less than great things from Martinez.
"I think Tino will have a much better year," said Girardi. "I really enjoyed my four years with Tino because Tino is a winner. Everywhere Tino goes, he wins. He expects perfection. He expects to have a great year every year."
If Martinez has a great year in a lineup that includes Edgar Renteria, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Albert Pujols, his expectations for the team might be realized as well.
Jared Hoffman is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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