Russell Martin
From BR Bullpen
Russell Nathan Coltrane Jeanson-Martin
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 10", Weight 210 lbs.
- School Chipola Junior College
- High School Polyvalente Edouard-Montpetit High School
- Debut May 5, 2006
- Born February 15, 1983 in East York, ON Canada
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[edit] Biographical Information
Russell Martin was born in the Toronto, ON area but grew up all over the place, including Chelsea, QC, Winnipeg, MB, Paris, France, and eventually Montreal, QC where he attended the same high school as future teammate Eric Gagné. His father was an English-speaking jazz musician (hence the name Coltrane, after jazz great John Coltrane), and his mother was French speaking (Jeanson is her last name and Martin's official last name is Jeanson-Martin); he did his schooling in French, until moving to the US to attend junior college and play baseball.
In the 2000 World Junior Championship, Martin hit .414/?/.690 for Canada with 12 runs, possibly tying Tae-kyun Kim for the lead. His 12 RBI were possibly second to Joe Mauer. He played third base for Team Canada. Scott Wearne of Australia made the All-Tournament team instead of Martin.
After completing junior college, Russell Martin planned to go to North Carolina State University but was drafted in the 17th round of the 2002 amateur draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed with them. A second baseman until then, he was converted to third base for the 2002 GCL Dodgers and hit .286/.357/.412 with 7 steals in 8 tries. In 2003, he batted .286/.343/.439 for the South Georgia Waves and .271/.368/.436 with the Ogden Raptors while finding yet another position at catcher. He led Pioneer League catchers in both assists (63) and passed balls (27).
In 2004, Martin returned to Vero Beach, FL, where the GCL Dodgers had played in 2002. He hit .250/.366/.421 with 15 homers for the Class A Vero Beach Dodgers and joined Eliezer Alfonzo as the Florida State League All-star backstops. In 2005, Martin batted .311/.430/.423 for the AA Jacksonville Suns. Baseball America rated him the best defensive catcher in the Southern League and said he had the best strike zone judgement in the circuit, which he led in putouts (960), assists (90) and errors (12). He made the SL All-Star team at catcher and was third in the league in batting average. He was ranked the #10 prospect in the league by BA and was 0 for 1 as a backup in the Futures Game that year.
Hitting .297/.389/.419 in 23 games for the Las Vegas 51s, Martin was called up in early May to Los Angeles and had a fine rookie campaign, establishing himself as the team's starting catcher with a line of .282/.355/.436 in 121 games. He hit 10 home runs and stole 10 bases, a rare combination for a catcher. He started all three games of the NLDS against the New York Mets and went 4 for 12. In the second inning of Game 1 on October 5, he hit a single off the right field wall with Jeff Kent on second and J.D. Drew on first, but both runners were thrown out at home on the same play in what was a crucial turning point in the Series.
In 2007, Martin continued where he left off the previous season, establishing himself as the Dodgers' best all-around player and the top young catcher in the Majors. He was voted to start the All-Star Game, beating out Paul LoDuca and Brian McCann.
Martin was the starting catcher for Team Canada in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He went 2 for 4 with a home run and 3 runs scored in the opening game against Team USA. He wore the name J. Martin on his jersey, to reflect his full name, and has continued this practice with the Dodgers for the 2009 season.
Sources include 2003-2006 Baseball Almanacs
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2006 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- 2-time NL All-Star (2007 & 2008)
- NL Gold Glove Winner (2007)
- NL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2007)
[edit] Further Reading
- Stephanie Myles: "World citizen, Old Montreal resident", Montreal Gazette, March 30, 2009 link
