If you’re a designated hitter in Boston, you know who to go to for advice.
And that’s what J.D. Martinez did.
The new Boston Red Sox slugger spent a few minutes with David Ortiz while at spring training, and though the time they two spent together was brief, Martinez did pick up a lesson to help him with his transition to becoming a DH.
And the 30-year-old detailed to MLB.com’s Ian Browne what that lesson was from the time with Big Papi.
“To not take nine million swings during the game, because it’s easy to do,” Martinez said. “You’re bored as a DH, and you don’t know what to do. But he told me to take it easy and get ready for your at-bat, and that’s it. Study more than swing.”
Certainly some sage advice.
While Martinez likely will get some more time in the field in Boston than Ortiz did, it never hurts to learn the mental side of things for when he is strictly a DH.
And given how meticulous Martinez is when it comes to studying hitting, we can’t imagine it’ll be a huge issue for him to — as he put it — study more than swing.
