Thrown into the fire at the trade deadline in 2009, the Red Sox catcher had to learn his pitchers on the fly. This season, he has more than six weeks to adjust to each member of Boston's dangerous arsenal to prepare for a smooth 2010 season behind the dish.
"It was something that I was really looking forward to coming into spring training, just having a chance to work with every single guy," Martinez told The Associated Press. "It makes me feel a lot more comfortable."
The 31-year-old backstop plans to take advantage of this crucial time. It's his first spring training donning a uniform that doesn't have a smiling Cleveland Indian mascot and V-Mart seems to be adjusting just fine.
"We got six weeks before we get the season started," he said. "I'm just trying to find out, get on the same page with them, just kind of learn what they like to do in certain situations. That little stuff that is going to make my job a little easier to call a game for them."
The pitchers are adjusting to him, too.
"I think we're comfortable with each other," righty Josh Beckett said. "I think it's a feel. He gets a feel for what I like to throw in certain counts and that creates rhythm. For us right now, it's just about getting on the same page every pitch.
"Victor's a very, very smart guy," Beckett added. "I don't think it will take him long. He knows how to call a game. If there is some sort of issue between what he's calling and how well I'm throwing it, it's probably me, not him."
But Martinez owes a lot to his fellow backstop, Jason Varitek, the team captain who has been manning the dish for the last decade. Without Tek's guidance in 2009, Martinez would have been lost in the fog.
"Man, [Varitek] did it," Martinez said. "He pretty much did it all for me last year. He was the one that got me ready for the pitching staff. He was the one that really helped me out. He told me what pitches, if a pitcher is in a hole or in trouble, call this pitch, it'll relax him. And you know what, if it wasn't for Jason, things would be a lot tougher last year."
