The Boston Red Sox took care of business Thursday night, clinching the American League East with a victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
As such, several of Boston’s usual starters were granted a well-deserved day off in Friday’s series opener against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. J.D. Martinez was supposed to be one of those resting players, but the veteran slugger wasn’t having it when manager Alex Cora informed him of the planned day off.
“I texted J.D. like at 1, ‘Hey, you’re not playing today,” Cora said, per NESN’s Red Sox pregame coverage. “And then he text me back, ‘Yes, I’m playing.’ And I called him and I said, ‘You’re not playing’ (and he said) ‘Yeah, I’m playing. I want to play.’ So it’s up to them, too. Then we go, ‘Do you want to play right field?’ (and he said) ‘No, no. I’ll DH today.'”
While the Red Sox already have notched one of their primary team goals, Martinez still is very much in the mix for one of baseball’s most prestigious individual achievements. The American League Triple Crown is well within the grasp of Martinez, who ranks first in the AL in RBIs and second in both home runs and batting average.
