The Blue Jays are hiring five-time All-Star Victor Martinez as a special assistant in their front office, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com. The longtime big league catcher has connections to Toronto president/CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins dating back to their time together in the Cleveland organization during the 2000’s.
Martinez, a native of Venezuela, debuted with the Indians late in the 2002 season. He started with a nondescript year and a half before a breakout in 2004 at age 25. Martinez hit .283/.359/.492 that year, earning his first All-Star nod and Silver Slugger award. Martinez would remain one of the sport’s top catchers throughout his time in Cleveland, which ended at the 2009 trade deadline when he was dealt to the Red Sox. He spent a year and a half in Boston before signing a four-year deal with the Tigers in free agency.
That deal worked out beautifully for Detroit. Even as Martinez saw decreasing action behind the dish, he continued to mash into his mid-30’s. He led the American League with a .409 on-base percentage in 2014. A .335/.409/.565 showing earned Martinez a runner-up finish behind Mike Trout in that year’s MVP balloting. Martinez would re-sign with Detroit on another four-year contract the following winter, though his production tailed off throughout that contract.
After the 2018 season, Martinez announced his retirement. He concluded a 16-season big league career with a .295/.360/.455 line, 246 home runs and 1178 runs batted in over just fewer than 2000 MLB games. He’ll bring that wealth of experience to the Toronto baseball operations group.
Wow!
Never had 100 so’s in a single season, great career
perusing his stats, he was such a good hitter. his 2014 was nuts, especially when you check his K/BB.
Miss the days when Vmart was with Detroit. Part of one of the best lineups of recent memory.
Absolutely. This is what Verlander was getting at the other day. It’s still frustrating and weird that that Tigers team throughout that entire period from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s didn’t win at least one WS Championship. Those Tiger teams were load-did-duh!
Yeah, I count 3 seasons including that one in which he walked at least as many times as he struck out. Crazy.
Joining us about two decades later than I’d have liked, but I’ll take it.
At least he may know a thing or two about Victor(y).
Good to see he’s back being part of the game. Weird that he isn’t with Cleveland or at least Detroit but hey, at least he’s back!
He joined the Cleveland front office team he knew, which happens to have moved to Toronto.
This is what happens, you get on a good team, win a WS, him and Mattingly will both be given 5 year Head Coach or Front Office positions elsewhere
So it is written so it shall be!
Great team asset. Always consider the advice of people who’ve experienced the success YOU want…
He was truly the MVP in Detroit, he hit so well they couldn’t pitch around Miggy every time, which allowed Miggy his MVP awards
Would love to have VMart back in The Show as a playable Legend.
Would Moreno still be a Jay if this move was made earlier? Arizona would still have been asking, of course, but the Jays might have tried harder to keep him, knowing they had VMart for him to learn from.
If Varsho is what he showed last season, it will be okay but I have this premonition that Moreno will do something like Jeff Kent did after he was moved. (That DID get the Jays David Cone and they DID win the World Series after they made the move so …!!!)
Congratulations on this next step, V Mart! Nice to see such a great player and person continuing in the league.
Wish this was happening with Cleveland, but the connection makes good sense.