What would you do for $1 million?
Everyone’s answer varies, but J.D. Martinez’s feelings on the Home Run Derby don’t change as the prize value does.
Martinez told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on Thursday that, despite this year’s $1 million prize, the Boston Red Sox’s slugger still will not participate in the Derby.
“I’m not. I don’t think I would do it,” Martinez told Bradford. “I would have done it in 2015, but I wasn’t good enough. … It’s not about the money.”
The 31-year-old tallied 43 homers last season, but he says he simply doesn’t want to do it. As fun as it seems, Martinez says the contest actually is pretty stressful.
“I just don’t want to do it. It’s a lot of stress, man,” he said. “You’re hitting for two minutes straight, easy. Trying to hit the ball as far as you can. I remember seeing it the first time they did it when I wanted to do it and I said, ‘Thank God I didn’t do it.’ It was just exhausting. Those guys were out there drenched.”
Martinez is hitting .298 with 11 homers in 50 games so far this season.
