The Best Martinez in New York
David Wells is in Boston, Pedro Martinez is with New York's other team, Carl Pavano, whom Boston traded to Montreal in 1997 to obtain Pedro, is in New York, and Randy Johnson, after leaving Montreal, Seattle and Houston, is now leaving Arizona for New York. But fear not. At least one thing is right. The greatest player named "Martinez" to ever play in New York is back. Tino will play first base for the Yankees.
Tino Martinez followed Don Mattingly. Tino succeeded and helped the Yankees win the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. After the Yankees lost the 2001 World Series, George Steinbrenner immediately started screaming that he wanted Jason Giambi. Tino was forgotten by the Yankees but not by the fans.
The Yankees signed Giambi to a long term contract which, in light of his admitted drug use and compromised physical condition, was a bad move. Tino signed with the Cardinals, where he spent two seasons, and then was traded to Tampa Bay. When Tampa refused his option for 2005, Tino became a free agent.
Tino Martinez hit one of the most underrated home runs in World Series history. It was Game 4 in 2001. Arizona led the Series, two games to one and was ahead, 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning. There were two outs, Paul O'Neill (who else?) had singled and was on first with Tino at the plate. I was sitting in the bleachers and watched as Byung-Hyun Kim, a submarine fastballer, delivered, expecting a game ending out because that was the direction that the game and the series seemed to be taking, but that's not what happened.
Tino swung and everything was unreal. The ball left his bat and rose into the air. I didn't realize what was happening. All I could see was that the ball was getting bigger and bigger. Suddenly it hit me. I was sitting in FAIR territory. A split second before the ball landed in the seats I grasped the fact that the game would be tied. Two outs, two runs behind. And then, like in dream, it was 3-3. Jeter won it in the tenth when he homered off Kim.
After the game, Tino said that he had watched the eighth inning from the clubhouse, trying to analyze Kim, whom he had never faced. He guessed that Kim would start him off with a fastball, which he did, and Tino hit it into the bleachers. But Tino's joy was tempered, which speaks volumes about Tino. "It's a great feeling, but at the same time, it's a tie game," Martinez said. "The game isn't over."
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