J.D. Martinez has gone back to basics, and the effects have been devastating.
After the Boston Red Sox slugger hit a home run and a double Friday night in the team’s 11-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Alex Cora highlighted one of the keys to his recent resurgence. Martinez has eight extra-base hits and 16 RBIs in his last 11 games, and his 26-game on-base streak is the longest active run in the majors and ties the longest of his career. So what’s the secret to his rebound from the slight dip he endured in May and June? Cora believes it’s plate discipline.
“It starts with controlling the strike zone,” Cora said in a postgame press conference, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “At one point there, he only had one walk in 70 at-bats. He started getting his walks, he started driving the ball to right field. He’s still probably the most respected hitter in our lineup.
“The opposition, they see him, and it’s still J.D. Martinez. He had some great at-bats. Even the home run, he check-swings and it’s a foul ball. He kept fouling pitches off, fouling pitches off. He gets a good pitch and drives it to right-center. That’s who J.D. is. I’m just glad that he is who he is. He’s relentless.”
Martinez told reporters after the game he’s “trying to just keep it simple.” His approach is paying off handsomely, as his recent form and overall performance in 2021 both prove his poor 2020 season was a freak occurrence in his career.
Martinez will demonstrate his skills to a national audience next week at the 2021 MLB All-Star Game. Given his “relentless” approach at the plate, there’s no reason to believe he won’t return from the All-Star break in the same groove in which he entered it.
