Blue Jays on the Ballot: Russell Martin
BLUE JAYS ON THE BALLOT: RUSSELL MARTIN
October 15, 2015. Game 5 of the ALDS between the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers had been a back-and-forth affair and at that point was knotted at 2-2. Then, with Aaron Sanchez on the mound and Shin-soo Choo at the plate, Russell Martin threw back to the mound except the ball never made it to Sanchez.
Instead, it hits Choo's bat, causing Rougned Odor to scamper home from third, giving the Rangers the lead and unleashing a riot at Rogers Centre. What followed was the most insane hour baseball anybody has ever witnessed. Fortunately, three Ranger errors, an iconic home run, and a legendary bat flip erased memory of Martin's miscue and made sure that this wasn't going to be Jays' fans lasting impression of him.
With Martin the 2nd of the three Blue Jays players making their debut on the Hall of Fame ballot, let us look back at his career with the boys in blue. When Martin signed a five year, $82 million contract prior to the 2015 season, it was a pretty big deal.
Here he was, a Canadian kid - and three-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner - getting to play for his home country, in the city where he was born. It was one of many moves that offseason, which also saw the Jays acquire Josh Donaldson, Marco Estrada, Devon Travis, and Michael Saunders.
Right off the bat he got a standing ovation when the Jays played their final two spring training games in Montreal, where Martin spent the majority of childhood. His father, Russell Sr., also played O Canada on the saxophone during a pre-season game.
Two weeks after his standing O in Montreal, with the season underway, he teamed with Jeff Francis for the first all-Canadian battery in Franchise history.
2015 was Martin's best season as a Blue Jay. He established a career in home runs with 23 - which also tied the franchise record (with J.P. Arencibia) for most homers by a catcher in a single season - to go along with 77 RBIs and 112 OPS+; he was also elected to his fourth and final All-Star game.
Martin's fortunes - and production - declined after that, though he still managed to club 20 HRs in 2016. In 2018 he ended up ceding playing time to Reese McGuire and fan favourite Danny Jansen, but showed off his athleticism and versatility by appearing in left field, third base, and shortstop. Along the way, he reached both 10 000 and 11 000 putouts, becoming only the 15th catcher to reach the latter mark.
With the Jays in decline and re-building only two years after their most recent playoff appearance, and with Martin hitting under .200. for the season, the writing was on the wall. Still, manager John Gibbons let Russell take the reins for the final game of the season.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers - the team that drafted him and whom he spent the first five years of his career with - along with $20 million for two prospects. It would be his last season in the majors.
Speaking of managing a game, there have been rumblings that a coaching job - with the Jays or elsewhere - is in Martin's future; he is the perfect candidate for it and not just because he was a catcher.
While Martin's chances of being enshrined in Cooperstown, he is unlikely to receive the 5% necessary to remain on the ballot after this year, he has already been elected to another revered institution.
In addition to the touching video tribute the Blue Jays gave him following his retirement, Martin will be elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame's class of 2025 along with (among others) Paul Godfrey, Ashley Stephenson, and Blue Jays legend Jimmy Key.
The results of the 2025 Hall of Fame election will be announced in January.
Martin finished his career with 191 HR, 771 RBI, 1416 hits, .248. avg, 101 OPS+, and 38.9 WAR
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 2 | 157 ANSWERS Blue Jays on the Ballot: Russell Martin How will Russell Martin do on the HOF Ballot? | ||
| 5% or more | 52 | 33.1 % |
| Fall off after one year | 61 | 38.9 % |
| Get elected | 44 | 28 % |
| List of polls | ||
