Victor Martinez wants you to remind of something: it’s a long season. The season is long and the toll taken on your body is considerable. When you’re an older player, like Marinez, the time required for recovery is even longer. Every collision, every slide, every bruise takes a little more out of you.
Veteran players learns to cut corners as they gain experience. They learn ways to preserve their stength, their legs, their concentration to grind out a 162 game schedule. Sometimes you limit your cage swings, sometimes you coast to first on a hard hit ball to an infielder, sometimes you just don’t bother sliding when the ball beats you to the plate by 20 feet.
Sometimes, when you know you’re DOA and you know the opposing catcher is a guy his recent opponents call The Beast you reconsider trucking into the very large opponent because, really, what’s the point? Why try running him over when my own injury is all but assured? Why slide when I can tear up my knee?
Given all that information, Victor Martinez just opts to take the gentleman’s way out of this Jeff Francoeur outfield assist. You get to the plate, you tip your cap and you run back to the dugout. Jam done, nothing to see here. On to the next one, Victor. We salute you honesty and integrity.
