St. Louis Cardinals Gameday – June 2018

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By Stan McNeal

At a time when baseball’s fashionable

hitting approach is all about staying

calm and “quiet” in the batter’s box, Jose

Martinez isn’t afraid to go loud.

Yeah, he brings a party to the plate.

There, Martinez is a 6-foot-7 package

of perpetual motion, his arms, legs and

feet all going simultaneously, in this

direction or that, and somehow syncing

just in time. His “stance” and style are far

from standard – to the point of being the

game’s most unique. But the result is a

powerful swing that produces consistently

hard contact.

And numbers that rock.

This season, his third as a Cardinal,

Martinez has hit his way into a full-time

starting job and emerged as the team’s

most consistent offensive performer.

Entering the second weekend of June, he

paced the club in batting average, hits,

RBIs and games played.

That he’s the tallest position player in

franchise history – his limbs are lean and

plenty long on a sinewy 230-pound frame

• only adds to the spectacle when he takes
  his hitting turn. He’s fun to watch, but
  all the movement can leave an onlooker
  vacillating between delight at the end
  result and incredulous amazement: How
  does he manage to make it all work?
  To find out, Cardinals Magazine asked
  Martinez to decode a “typical” at-bat –
  knowing that no two are exactly the same.
  Even “Dancing With the Stars” couldn’t
  choreograph all the commotion going on.
  As he approaches the plate, Martinez
  announces his presence with his 34-inch,
  31.5-ounce bat, often using the knob to
  etch a cross in the dirt outside the batter’s
  box to honor his late father. He then
  “draws” a line inside the box so he knows
  where not to put his feet.
  Stepping in, he places his rear foot
  on the edge of the back chalk line,
  unfolds into a wide stance and looks
  toward the pitcher – in this case,
  Phillies starter Jake Arrieta, on a rainy
  May night at Busch. Martinez stands

There is a method to Jose Martinez’s

myriad of machinations in a batter’s

box. The constant motion helps the

Cardinals’ hits-man relax and find

a rhythm, all timed to put him into

position to mash baseballs.

Moves like