Michael Martinez |

Somebody PhotoShop a cape on him, would you please?
Photo (c) Cheryl Pursell

Don’t be a hater, now. I know how you feel. “Mini-Mart” got a scholarship year in 2011 with the Phillies as a Rule-5 pick from the Washington Nationals, after hitting .253 with Harrisburg in the Eastern League and .325 over 33 games with Syracuse. He was able to back up multiple positions up the center of the field–SS, 2B, CF–but didn’t excel. He didn’t excel at the plate either much to the consternation of the Phillies’ Phaithful. Yet he couldn’t be sent down because of the Rule-5 regulations lest he return to rival Washington. I was an agnostic. I was worried about the IronPigs’ playoff push and not with Phillies bench players.

In 2012 he was injured for a time, and spent 32 games with the IronPigs. From the stands, I felt that during that time he was “big-leaguing” us a bit. Observing his play, it seemed to me that he felt playing with the IronPigs was somehow beneath him after the time he had spent with the Phillies. He seemed lazy and only concerned with his own play and not the success of the team. It was noticeably out of place for a player on a Sandberg-coached team. This was my opinion and observation last season. At this point, I was joining the “haters.”

It became obvious as we worked our way through training camp in 2013 that Martinez would be full-time with the IronPigs. He was signed only to a minor-league contract and Galvis would certainly be with the Phillies (until now!–I digress). DiPro-favorite Blanco was injured beyond immediate repair. Full-time shortstop duties would fall to Martinez and Orr. I was not pleased, but as always in March, the glow of the newborn season had me hopeful.

On Media Day this season, we didn’t have the opportunity to talk with Michael, but Cheryl and I did meet his “handlers.” Two nice gentleman presumably from the Dominican who arrived to assist Micheal with his business. Hey, before you make jokes, just consider that married players have wives to help with moving, and housing, and shopping, and whatnot. What’s a single player to do? Anyway, we yukked it up for a little, because Michael didn’t tell them to bring coats. Or, long pants. April 1 in Allentown is NOT the Caribbean, right? We learned that Michael wanted number 7. Cesar Hernandez got to it first. No matter, Michael settled for number 3. No conflict or discussion at all, that we heard of in the locker room.

My observation of Martinez this season has changed my opinion of him. While we haven’t interviewed him for the Wide World of Pigs on NoiseNationTV, we have had the chance to see him play a lot of baseball. He’s been nothing but professional. On a team of youngsters and prospects and organizational guys and grizzled veterans, he and Jermaine Mitchell have been the athletic core and leaders of the team, pushing their play forward on the field. As of this writing, Martinez has hit safely in 9 of his last 12 G (16-39, .410-2-4, 2 2B, 10 R) and in 14 of 17 G (21-57, .368-2-6, 2 2B, 3B, 11 R, SB). Overall, Martinez is batting .276 in 43 games with 5 2B, 1 3B, and 2 HR. His OPS is .703 and he’s been decent in the field. Not perfect, no. But the effort has been there. He made two “star-worthy” plays in center field the other night after not having played that position much at all this season.

Now, we may be seeing the end of Michael’s time with the Phillies’ organization. Hold on. Hold on. Don’t call the caterers just yet. And don’t buy a round of drinks at the club-level bar (OK, do. But because it will make me happy, not because of MiniMart.) He’s been DFA’d and gone unclaimed through waivers. The Phillies have traded for another middle infielder. Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez will get all the time at SS and 2B for the IronPigs for the foreseeable future. Jermaine Mitchell and Leandro Castro (when he heals) will get a lot of the CF time. An injury on the Phillies will have Galvis or Hernandez called up. Martinez is but a AAA player right now.

But he’s our AAA player and he can play on my team any time–OK, not my MLB team. But I’m having fun watching him play, and that’s all I ask. He’s no longer “Mini-Mart” to me. He’s “Super-Mart.”

See you at the park,

@kram209

PS: Credit where due: Matt Provence came up with the “Super Mart” name on the radio, as far as I know.