Russell Nathan Coltrane Jeanson Martin Jr. Born 2/15/1983 in East York, Ontario Canada. He is biracial. His father, Russell Martin Sr., is Black Canadian, his mother, Suzanne Jeanson, is Franco-Manitoban. He was named after his father, his grandfather, John Coltrane, whom his father admired and his mother’s family. When he was two, his parents separated. His father used to play saxophone in Montreal’s metro station to make money to pay for his son’s baseball lessons.
When he was 10, his mother re-married and moved to Paris France. From then on, he would split time living with his father and then his mother. He played both hockey and baseball in Montreal. After graduating from high school, he took a scholarship to Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.
In 2000, he was selected in the 35th round by the Expos but did not sign. He remained in college and in 2002 he was selected by the Dodgers in the 17th round. Russell was selected as a 3rd baseman. He spent that first season with the Gulf Coast Dodgers and hit .286 in 41 games. That winter, he was converted to catcher. In 2003, he started the season with Ogden and was later promoted to the Class-A South Georgia Waves.
2004 Martin was a Florida State League All-Star with Vero Beach, hitting .250 with 15 homers and 64 driven in. He spent 2005 in AA at Jacksonville hitting .311 with 9 homers and 61 driven in in a career high 129 games. At the beginning of the 2006 season, he was at AAA Las Vegas where he hit .297 in 23 games before his promotion to the Dodgers.
He was promoted to the Dodgers due to the injury of starter Dioner Navarro on May 5th. He got two hits, including a double in his debut. His first hit came off of Chris Capuano. He hit his first homer on May 7th off of Dave Busch of the Brewers. On May 6th, he and Eric Gagne made baseball history by being the first French-Canadian battery in the majors.
On September 18th, Martin hit a homer off of Trevor Hoffman. It was the third of four homers in a row in the bottom of the 9th and helped the Dodgers tie the Padres. They would walk it off in the 10th on a homer by Nomar. It was the first time four in a row had been hit since 1964.
In 2007, Martin was handed the starting catcher’s job. He was elected a starter to the All-Star game, becoming the first Canadian born catcher to do so. He beat out former Dodger Pail LoDuca by over 200,000 votes for the starting nod. He broke the record for steals by a catcher, 12, in May of 2007. He passed Johnny Roseboro. He earned a gold glove and a silver slugger award for 2007.
He would play some third base in 2008. He was spelled at catcher by veteran Gary Bennett. He made the All-Star team again and caught 10 innings of the 15-inning loss. After the season he signed a 3.9-million-dollar contract to avoid arbitration. He played in the World Baseball Classic for team Canada, then rejoined the Dodgers. But in 2009, he dropped his BA 30 points and only hit 7 homers.
2010 was even worse as his BA dropped to .248 and he hit only 5 homers. A torn labrum in his hip in August put him out for the rest of the year. Negotiations for a contract in the offseason were tenuous. Martin wanted well over 5 million and the Dodgers offered 4.2. After he rejected the Dodgers offer, they non-tendered him and signed Rod Barajas. But they said Marting was welcome to come back. He felt they had no faith in him, so being a free agent now, he signed a one-year deal with the Yankees for 6 million and he could get as much as 9.4 if he caught 110 games.
He began 2011 as the Yanks regular backstop. He would make the AL All-Star team. His BA again dropped, but his home run and RBI production was way up from 2010. 18, 65. He shared catching duties with Chris Stewart after signing a one-year 7.5-million-dollar deal to return. He could make an additional 100,000 in performance bonuses. He hit only .211 but had 21 long balls.
After the season, Martin signed a two-year contract for 17 million dollars with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would help the Pirates beat the Reds in the Wild-Card game by hitting two homers. His BA was just .226 in 127 games. He came back strong in 2014 and hit .290 for the Bucs. A free agent again, he signed a 5-year, 82-million-dollar deal with the Blue Jays.
On the 19th of April, Martin and Jeff Francis became the first All-Canadian battery in Blue Jays history. Martin was given a standing ovation that spring when the Jays played their final two spring games in Toronto. He also was RA Dickey’s main catcher all through spring so he could practice catching his knuckleball.
On June 2nd, Martin stole home on the backend of a double steal. He became the first Blue Jay to do so since 2012. He finished the year with 23 homers, a .240 BA and 77 driven in. He lead the league in passed balls with 19, but still was a Gold Glove finalist with Salvador Perez and Jason Castro. In 2016, he hit .231/20/73. He did not do well in the postseason getting only 3 hits.
On April 17th, 2017, he became the 15th catcher to record 10,000 put outs at the position. He would play in only 91 games hitting .221/13/35. In 2018 he became only the 11th player to record 11,000 put outs at the position. Russell played in only 90 games and had his worst offensive season, .194/10/25 in 90 games. On the last day of the season, he managed the team and lost his MLB managing debut. On January 11. 2019, he was traded to the Dodgers for Ronny Brito and Andrew Sopko. The Jays also sent 16.4 million to the Dodgers to offset his salary.
Martin would spend the season as first, Austin Barnes back-up and then Will Smith’s. He would play in 83 games and have some good moments for the Dodgers. His line was .220/6/20. But he tutored the young Smith and helped him settle in. On March 30th, Russell pitched the 9th inning of the Dodgers 18-5 blowout win over the Diamondbacks. He retired all three hitters on 10 pitches. He became the first position player to do that since Willie Smith of the Tigers in 1963. I remember it well. Russell went 2-4 in the only playoff game he appeared in against the Nats. He homered, doubled and drove in 4 in the Dodgers 10-4 win in game 3.
On August 19th, he pitched in a Dodger shut out win, becoming the first position player to do that since George Kelly of the Giants in 1917. 2019 would be his last MLB season. He finally announced his retirement in 2022. He now lives with his partner, Elisabeth, and their two daughters. Martin played for team Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He was going to play for them in 2013 and 2016, but was left off the roster in 13 because of being tired and in 16 because of a lingering injury.
Disappointing start by Julio yesterday.
Dodgers need him at his A game to have a long postseason run.
Outmans oppo homer was a thing of beauty. Good to see how he adjusted after a tough 2 months.
Muncy with his bomb probably has secured his place in the middle of the lineup for the next 10 days at least.-:)
Vargas went 1-6 yesterday at OKC but the one hit was a 3-run bomb.
At RC Josue dePaula continues his impressive run going 2-5.
Also at RC Wilman Diaz is off to a torrid start after being promoted two days ago. ANother 3-5 night including another triple. Kid had a tough goind since being signed in 2021 and being touted the 2nd best internatinal prospect out of VEN.
Good to see we have some highly talented position players making their way up the system.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was reportedly the first opposite field HR by a lefthanded batter since the O’s moved back the left field fence. All the more impressive because the O’s have lefty power in Rutschman and Henderson.
No game today. Think I will watch the Giants play the Reds, or the Braves-D Backs game. Roberts addressed Julio’s bad outing yesterday saying he just did not look comfortable on the mound. No kidding Dave. I thought he looked pretty crappy myself.
The Athletic blamed the weather and the wet ball. Says he could not get a grip!
If you have mlb.tv, watch both on the laptop on split screen!
Oh really? Huh, Baltimore’s pitchers did not seem to have that problem.
Giving up 5 runs in the first 5 innings isn’t anything to write home about.
Don’t we all need to get a grip sometimes?
Uh, Oy vey!
Oi
Julio has completely crapped out in 5 of his 14 starts so far this season. Somethin’ ain’t right.
It could be between his ears!
Or hanging over his belt. He really looks out of shape.
The dodgers wanted Julio to be their workhorse “innings eater” this season, ..but on the mound, not the dinner table. lol
@Watford, if he’s here today:
The weather is all over the news here too! It’s one thing to live through it, it’s another to have it hard to avoid even when inside reading the news.
https://www.axios.com/2023/07/20/world-heat-wave-records-us-europe-china
Geez! If this keeps up the planet might approach the temperatures of the Roman Climate Optimum or the Medieval Warm Period.
Kinda like the Medieval Warm Period except:
1. This time it’s Global! (pun?)
2. If we get off our asses it won’t be permanent or, per the reference three centuries of hot weather!
That said, the other thing. The Roman Climate Optimum was interesting to read about!
Bluto – trust me
It’s not even warm here lol
We have no idea what hot is
I’m sure you guys are watching The Open….
Work wants me to go to Vegas or San Diego (for Comicon). Guess which one I’m choosing??!??!?!
Loved Martin. Thought he’d be the captain of our next championship team. It never happened.
Russell was always a favorite of mine.
For those who want to run Marvelous Maxie out of town, he does have 20 HRs, 56 RBIs, and a .773 OPS.
All 3 of those numbers look okay to me. I know, I know…..his BA is dismal. Noted……
Last year, I wanted Cody gone….got my wish…..and now, I regret it. I don’t want to duplicate that with Max.
22 homers. But he strikes out way too damn much. 91 times in 272 at bats. That is awful. His OPS is up because he has walked 50 times. But if you remove his 22 homers from his run scored total, it is pitiful. 29 runs scored outside of his homers. How many times have those walks turned into runs? No, he needs to be at least the .240 hitter he was before.
THIS
BA is overrated!
Being old school, I disagree. When a guy is being successful like Muncy, 18.7 times out of a hundred, sorry, he sucks. He needs to be better. And he needs to do it sooner than later. I get that the stat freaks do not like wins, ERA or BA as a way to measure success or a players value, but walks rarely drive in runs and Muncy’s walks have not led to that many runs. He is also killing rally’s where he is hitting in the lineup. Looks too much like Rob Deer at this point. Those stats were good enough to evaluate players for over 100 years. I still use them as a rule of thumb.
One thing for sure – walks are NOT equal to singles ..as some have wrongfully postulated.
Russell Martin was one of my favorites. Just seemed to have a knack for making a big play, and I loved it when the Dodgers brought him back as a reserve.
When he pitched in those blow-outs, he was throwing strikes at about 91-92. (It has always puzzled me that there aren’t more two-way players, since just about every good player pitches in high school and so many do in college as well. Having an outfielder who could get some RP action would be a great asset.)
Martin also played some 3B. Perhaps Cartaya and Rushing should get that training–unless the brass decides to move Will Smith there instead. As it stands, who is the Dodgers’ third baseman of the future? Maybe Vargas, assuming that Mookie stays in the infield. Maybe No. 2 pick Gelof. Probably not Busch, a prime trade candidate. So one of the Dodgers young stud catchers might be best option.
That cute little graphic, pre game yesterday, showed the Dodger defensive line up with an illustration that showed “Outs Above Average-2023”. It was supposed to show data from Statcast that compares defensive acumen from a computer.
It showed Outman ranks +3, which is apparently 3 sometimes better than the “average”. I think that is very kind. I think we all could agree that his is an adequate centerfielder and improving. He busts his ass and battles in center. I love his effort. But he isn’t a “+3, what ever that is. He sometimes takes bad routes, gets poor jumps and looks kind of shaky sometimes. He ain’t no Cody Bellinger out there.
Heyward +4, better than the “average”. Yeah, I guess? What year?
Freeman was -2, so he is -2 something, below average?
and Mookie at 2nd is -1 below average.
Please.
What or who is Mr. Average?
To begin with, why is it necessary for a computer to rate and compare players on some defensive metric? It’s a total, subjective, waste of time.
Who’s going to trust some pencil neck’s computer rating? Maybe it’s for arbitration or some contact negotiation purposes?
Nobody cares. I don’t need a computer telling me that Freddie is a below average first baseman. He’s not. Or Mookie is below average at 2nd base.
Piss in my ear again and tell me it’s raining.
Piss in my ear again and tell me it’s raining.
Uh…. no! 😉
I put Zero Confidence in Defensive Stats. Fld% tells you the number of Chances, PO, Errors, etc. and for the rest, I use my eyes.
I think the technology used for advanced stat on fielding might be useful.
But fielding % is pure bunk.
A SS with poor range might give up 5 hits to his left or right–and the same balls hit to a SS with good range could wind up getting three assists and 2 errors. And the crappy SS would have the better fielding %.
By the way, in another thread, Phil kind of scoffed at the notion of the Dodgers trading for Tyler O’Neill from the Cards, who is coming off an injury but has been very good in the past.
I’ll try to paraphrase Phil, who said something like, “What are we? A Salvation Army for castoff outfielders?”
Well, actually, that’s a pretty good description.
Heyward was cast off by the Cubs, who are still paying the big bulk of his salary. Peralta was cast off by the D-backs, whose youth movement is paying off. Those cast-offs have worked out pretty well. Last season, it was Gallo getting cast off by the Yankees–and that didn’t work out so well.
We’ll just have to wait and see who AF & Associates come up with. I see no reason why O’Neill wouldn’t be considered (though the Dodgers might). The Cards could also deal lefty Jordan Montgomery. At any rate, the Cards look like good potential trade partners…. even if they can’t be talked into dealing Arenado.
Hmm…
An overpay for Arenado would really improve the Dodgers on both sides of the ball.
And that could be another reason for Ohtani to choose Dodger blue.
I saw Tyler the week before last when the Memphis Redbirds played the Indy Indians. He looked totally out of sync, and he is on the IL until August 16th. Still, he is the kind of player AF might try.
I am sure the Dodgers have talked to Nolan through “backchannels” – It depends upon how he feels. He could quietly ask for a trade and Busch and Cartaya would headline the players. It could happen… but I don’t think it is very likely.
Anybody REALLY think Arenado would be the missing link for a Dodgers WS title in 2023?
I don´t .
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!
Right now I think the missing link for a Dodgers WS title in 2023 would be October 2014 Madison Bumgarner.
Other than that, I don’t know what one player in today’s game would be that guy.
Ohtani. Ace pitcher and best middle of the lineup hitter /run producer.##
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ram, Ohtani hasn’t pitched since they found his blister problem. No report on when he will be back on the mound. Chances of the Angels trading him to the Dodgers, ZERO. And they need help there now.
It would not hurt!
Duke, Heyward and Peralta have been pleasant surprises. I think Peralta especially has a lot of game left. My point on O’Neil is do we really need another outfield project? I think the kids in our system need to be given opportunities and it becomes frustrating for them to continually have outside reclamation projects dump on top of their heads. That can’t do much for their confidence in their player development and their futures.
However, if they sign Aernado, I doubt they would sign Ohtani too.
Which is why they won’t sign or trade for Arenado first.
Great day so far: both AZ and SF lost.
Cheers
So did the Padres. They are now 2 up on SF and AZ. Padres fall 10 back. Colorado is not even in the conversation.
Pads have to be getting ready to start trading pieces now. This crazy experiment of theirs is about to severely fail, especially financially.
Snell, Hader, and maybe even Soto must be on the block now??
Soto is the most likely to be dealt. Snell and Hader good possibilities.
This was reported in Oct. 2022:
“Arenado, who turns 32 in April, has five years and $144 million left on his contract, which takes him through the 2027 season. The Rockies, who Arenado played with for eight seasons prior to a 2021 trade to St. Louis, will pay $31.5 million of that remaining money, including $16 million in 2023.”
If the Cards wanted to rebuild, they could shed that salary and put their top prospect at 3B. Just spitballing, but the Dodgers could deal Cartaya + ?? + ??…
I think the odds of something like this happening are very slim. But the Cards are having a rough year, and it might be good time to reboot.
Padres lost also. Another good start by Blake Snell is wasted by the Padres. Somehow Snell is 6-8 with a 2.67 era this year. Very good off day for the Dodgers with SD, SF, and AZ losing.
Dodgers are in first by 2 games, and it is amazing when you look at their challenges, especially in the starting pitching rotation. They started the year without Buehler, and the initial top 6 starters have all had challenges:
Urias – 5.02 ERA compared to 2.16 last year.
May – Lasted only 9 starts before season ended by surgery.
Kershaw- Great first half but sidelined for all of July, at least.
Syndergard – ERA of 7.16 in 12 starts before going to IL.
Gonsolin – Missed first month of season with injury. Era of 3.72 compared to 2.14 in 2022.
Pepiot – Oblique injury and yet to pitch in MLB this year.
While the Dodgers are 3rd in MLB in runs scored this year they have also overcome many offensive setbacks:
Lux – injured in spring training for year.
Muncy- hitting 188
Vargas – hitting 195
Thompson – hitting 155 before injury
Barnes – hitting 108 this year.
The top 4 hitters are having great seasons so far, and along with great overall team depth have helped carry the team to the division lead. A credit to the organization to fill so many holes caused by injury and poor performance. If someone had told me all 6 of the top starters would be hurt and/or underperform to this level, I would have expected to be wheel down in the division. Great team effort to keep things together, and hopefully some pieces come back healthy and productive the rest of the way!
Excellent summary of what’s gone on so far. It is a testament to the strong leadership in the clubhouse as to why the dodgers are somehow a winning team leading their division. And though I’m not his biggest fan, I give Roberts his due. He’s made lemon out of lemonade this season, and it’s by far his best managerial performance to date.He’s kept everyone’s spirits up.
Don’t think Tim Anderson is coming to Los Angeles. Glad I’m not the GM I would have made that trade! Giolita got rocked last start, not sure about Jordan Montgomery,. Would the friars even consider trading snell to LA? Most other teams that might have a pitcher who dodgers would want still consider themselves in playoff picture! Still begging for arenado but know it’s a long shot. Hunter renfro makes a lot of sense. Just me but I wish doc would have pulled Julio earlier yesterday.
Do you mean the Tim Anderson, who is a below-average defensive SS and has a .235 BA with a . 274 OB% and a .549 OPS? He’s arguably a downgrade over Miguel Rojas!
No argument from me about Tim Anderson. The more I’ve watched him, the less I think of his game. Rojas is a better defender and his offense has improved for us. I question Anderson’s make-up and don’t think he’s a fit with the Dodgers.
Tell me again why we need a shortstop?
Youn nailed it.
The Dodgers do not need a SS…
They have Rojas, Taylor and Betts!
Agree.
Mookie has solved a lot of problems this season. And he’s made it clear that he loves playing on the dirt–that he has always thought of himself as infielder. I think the Dodgers will want to keep him happy.
I still think the Dodgers should keep tabs on the O’s Jorge Mateo. Great glove, arm and speed. He’d be an upgrade over Rojas–also younger– and the O’s have a wealth of middle infield talent coming up.
Maybe, maybe not. But Taylor is needed as the righty platoon for Peraulta in LF, while Betts spends most days at 2B or RF. That leaves Rojas still carrying the majority load at SS, but he remains an injury concern. Another SS option would be helpful.
I thought Russell Martin would be the Dodger catcher for several years when he first came up. He had good leadership skills and he looked so ready to be a major league catcher. He did end up having a decent career. I just thought he had more potential to be better.
Urias looks fat and out of shape. Hopefully, he will pick it up, however, there is a chance the Dodgers will choose to let him test the market this winter.
Padres are a joke. Too many divas on that team. Glad the Dodgers passed on Machado and Soto. Snell would look good in Dodger blue.
I would take Dave Roberts over Gabe Kapler 100%. However, I thought the Giants would not be that good this year; Kapler has to get some credit for it.
If the dodgers really want a better third base option I would look at the Blue jays and 3b Matt Chapman and they must have some relievers that we could get at deadline. Chapman will be a free agent at the end of year. Wouldn’t that be a better upgrade then Ohtani. Chapman is younger and fields better and hits both lefties and righties. How about Muncy and some prospects for say Chapman and some pitching. Reason because there behind Rays Orioles and Yankee’s to get into the playoffs right. Since there’s no chance everyone says in getting Arenado. And Chapman will be a free agent at end of season then we sign him in off-season.
This makes much more sense than Arenado or Bieber, but as of today Toronto is a Wild-Card team. Hard to imagine them selling unless that drastically changes.
I posted this elsewhere, and it’s 100% stolen from the Trade Simulator, but it’s intriguing to me:
Guardians GET
Michael Busch 18.3
Nick Frasso 9.3
Ryan Pepiot 10.9
Dodgers GET
Aaron Civale 25.9
Amed Rosario 4.2
Nick Sandlin 8.9
Tampa Bay is spiraling and a lot of pundits are picking Toronto to win the AL East.
They will not be selling!
I am all for signing him in the offseason!
He is an offensive upgrade over Max… and a huge defensive upgrade.
I would not do the trade with the Indians. To me it is too much to give up for too little.
You might not believe this, but at this point in time, Rojas is the better SS. He has only 4 errors at SS. Rosario has 11. Rosario is a -0.6 WAR player. Rojas is at 0.9. Rosario only has three homers, so you are not getting better defense and not that huge of an upgrade on offense. Make the trade if Rosario is not in it.
You are absolutely correct. I do not understand the fascination with Rosario!
I’ve been promoting Chapman for a while. I think AF blew it when the Blue Jays got him from Oakland. (This was before the Dodgers got Freddie, which forced Max off 1B.)
Chapman will get a nice FA contract from some team, possibly the Dodgers.
But I think any team that focuses on Ohtani won’t have enough left for a second fat FA contract.
I believe it was 2004 or 2005, when I was at Vero Beach for a week of Spring Training. At any rate, they had a 1:00 game, so I arrived at about 9:30 – I knew some of the groundskeepers and ushers, and I got into the complex. At that time of day, you will generally see no players. However, within a few minutes, a solitary player walked out, carrying his gear in a bag. I snapped a picture and asked him if he would sign it tomorrow (this was before cell phone cameras that were good) and he agreed. I took the roll to the Pharmacy and had it developed and was there the next day.
Russell was again the first one on the field and when he saw me he waved and came over and signed the photo. I still have it:
His work ethic was second to no one. I would say that his first three years were his best three years and then he started enjoying the party life a little too much and you can look at his stats and figure that out. Russ become a party animal and his work ethic waned. That is the rest of the story!
Agree. He seemed like a really good dude overall, a team leader, a guy who played hard, and was one of the fan faves back then.
I also thought he’d be the leader of that Loney, Ethier, Kemp, Kershaw, Billingsley, Broxton group. Oh well.
Great story, he was my sons favorite player for a while. Wore #55 in little league.
It happens, look at Bo Belinski. Players sometimes just want to have fun. In the old days they had it more often.
Eloy Jiménez, White Sox outfielder right handed bats 271 vs righties and 273 vs lefties. I say we should give him a look. Free agent in 2025.
Joe, the White Sox GM stated that four players will NOT be on the market. Jiminez, Vaughn, Robert and Cease.
Never know if you don’t make an offer.
I get that, but I am pretty sure he meant what he said. He also said they would be looking to deal players in their walk years. Giolitto and guys like that. Farhan is already talking to teams. I figure AF is doing some pre-emptive work himself. Lost power here for about an hour. Big thunderstorm blew in, In truth, if they went after a White Sox outfielder, I would prefer Robert over Jiminez any day. Both Heyward and Peralta have higher WAR’s than Jiminez who also is injury prone.
Eloy has been DHing when I’ve seen them play. He and Robert were both tabbed for stardom when they came up together. Robert has proven to be the better all around player. I’d love to get Bradley on this deal and swing a way for Robert to be a Dodger. He’s one of my favorites in the league.
But there’s no way the Sox part with him. Eloy, not so much.
I believe what their GM said when he named the four who are untouchable. Considering that neither would be a rental, the cost would be high. Jiminez not a free agent until 25 and Robert 26. Both are young players with 2 options on the end of their present contracts. Dodgers would be assuming about 18 mil remaining on Jimenez’s deal. Not counting the team option. Not sure they would do that.
Thank you Bear, for responding to my post regarding Jimenez. I wasn’t aware of the fact that their GM had already named him as one of the untouchables.
Everyone is an untouchable until they are not….
Everyone has a price.
Very true Matt, but then again some GMs say what they mean. I think if the White Sox trade any players at all, they are going to unload those whose contracts are expiring. The four players named by the Sox’s GM are all under team control.