86 CARDINALS MAGAZINE @CardsMagazine
among all Cardinals and fifth-best in the
National League.
“Quality at-bat after quality at-bat,”
Mabry states. “Every chance you get when
you’re not getting many opportunities
is really a big opportunity. If you make
good with those, the opportunities become
bigger. He just excelled as the at-bats got
bigger.”
One of the most defining moments came
in just his third at-bat as a Cardinal – a
plate appearance that produced an out but
put him on the map. Pinch-hitting against
hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman on
Sept. 12, 2016, Martinez smoked a line
drive off a 102-mph pitch to center field.
The ball was caught (by then-Cub Dexter
Fowler), but the at-bat turned heads in the
organization.
Chapman hasn’t allowed a run against
St. Louis since 2011. Few Cardinals have
managed more than weak swings, and
soft contact, against him. But here was
Martinez, showing no fear and no lack of
confidence facing “Mr. 105.”
“Everybody was like, ‘Hold on, who is
this guy?’ ” Martinez remembers. “That’s
exactly what happened. Everybody
started talking to me about that. ‘Do you
know what you just did? You hit the ball
harder than he throws. That was pretty
impressive.’ ”
The at-bat provided a hint that
Martinez’s approach had staying power. He
closed out the month hitting .438, though
he entered camp the next spring without
a guaranteed roster spot. So he bashed his
way onto the 2017 Opening Day roster,
slashing .380/.508/.740 with a team-best
nine extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in spring
training. As the season progressed, he
found himself getting more meaningful
at-bats.
By Labor Day, he was batting cleanup
and carrying the offense – and soon to
be named NL rookie of the month for
September (.345, four homers, 18 RBIs in
24 games).
The story was only slightly different
when Martinez came to camp this spring- he was assured of a roster spot, but he
was projected as a backup at first base and
the corner outfield spots. Once more, he
rewrote the projected script with his bat
and emerged as the Opening Day starter
at first.
Up to this point of his major league
career, he has produced just about
With only one player in the NL
Central, Reds slugger Joey Votto,
owning a better batting average than Jose
Martinez since his debut in September
2016, it’s clear the Cardinals first
baseman knows something about hitting.
He shared some thoughts on his craft
with Cardinals Magazine.
One objective: “Put the barrel (of
the bat) on the ball. Whether you are
working on a tee, hitting flips, taking
batting practice or in a game, I am trying
to barrel the ball every single time. The
better your timing is for the barrel to go
through the zone, the better your chances
of hitting the ball on the barrel.”
Think heat: “I am always ready for
the fastball. When you are on time, your
swing will go through the zone. When
you’re late, you rush your swing and it’s
harder to barrel the ball.”
Getting a grip on launch angle:
“It was hard. I learned that you’re not
swinging for the fences; you’re trying to
hit the ball to the outfield. It’s not an
uppercut (swing). You’re trying to stay
through the baseball through the zone,
and then give that last push on the ball.
“I first tried that in batting practice
and started driving the baseball
everywhere. It was amazing. I know I’m
not going to do it every single time, but
the idea is get the ball to the outfield.”
Learning from strikeouts: (Martinez
ranks among the NL’s most frequent
victims with one every seven plate
appearances) “Ahh, yes, they are part of the
game. For me, if I strike out, I should learn
something. How did he attack me? What
could I do next time? But sometimes the
pitcher makes a good pitch to get you, and
there’s not much you can do.”
Old-school stat: “RBIs are what
I look at, if I look at any numbers. If I’m
hitting .170 but have a lot of RBIs, I’m
doing a good job of helping the team.”Moves likeHe’s not the picture-perfect prototype for a hitting manual, but Martinez takes advantage of
the reach that comes with being 6-foot-7 to maximize plate-coverage and hit to all fields.
Always be
‘on time’