Not all marquee free-agent signings have lived up to expectations with the Boston Red Sox, but J.D. Martinez has managed to exceed them.
While Martinez was the most coveted free-agent hitter in the offseason, no one could have imagined the veteran slugger putting up the kind of numbers he has in his first season with the Red Sox. Through 107 games, Martinez is batting .326 to go along with a Major League Baseball-leading 32 home runs and 89 RBIs.
So, what sold Boston on Martinez in free agency? While president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski already was well aware of what Martinez brought to the table dating back to their time together with the Detroit Tigers, manager Alex Cora got his first glimpse of what was to come during the Winter Meetings.
“The way he talked, he was very passionate about baseball,” Cora told The Eagle Tribune’s Chris Mason. “He’d talk about communication with his players in Arizona. After that I made some phone calls and, yeah… They told me he was amazing. He was able communicate, to share information, he’s a good guy. So that’s when I was like, OK, this is going to work.”
And boy has it worked. Aside from helping the Red Sox rip off wins at a historic pace, Martinez firmly remains in the Triple Crown hunt with just over two months of the regular season remaining.
