“I want to contribute to leading the team to victory.”
NC Dinos foreign hitter Jason Martin, whose return to the first team was approaching, expressed his determination.
Martin, who entered the professional league after being nominated by the Houston Astros in 2013, moved to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 and made his debut in the 2019 season of the American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB). Afterwards, he wore a Texas Rangers uniform as a free agent for the 2021 season, and played an active part in the big leagues until that year. His career major league performance was a .206 batting average with 6 home runs and 21 RBIs in 85 appearances (205 plate appearances).
Last year, he showed off his slugging power by drawing 32 arches on the Triple-A team under the Los Angeles Dodgers, and joined hands with NC ahead of this season. NC paid attention to the fact that Martin is a professional outfielder who can play any position in the outfield, and that his pioneering vision is good and his contact ability and power are excellent.
It was a stage in Korea that he stepped on with so much expectation, but an unexpected injury caught Martin’s ankle. After posting a batting average of 0.222 (2 hits in 9 at-bats), 1 home run, 2 RBIs and 3 runs in 4 games after the start of the regular season, he was canceled from the first team entry on the 6th of last month due to a minor injury to the internal oblique muscle.
Afterwards, Martin, who worked hard while undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, participated as the designated hitter in the match against the Lotte Giants Futures team held at Masan Baseball Stadium on the 3rd, posting no hits and one walk in two at-bats. Then, in the game against Futures Lotte, which was held at the same place on the 4th, he sortied as the first batter and center fielder and even shot a home run.
He finished the game after being replaced by Park Young-bin in the defense in the top of the 6th inning. His final batting record that day was 3 at-bats, 1 hit, 1 home run and 1 RBI. The two flies in right field that became criminal hits were also batted balls that could have been hits if the direction was good.
Although it was in the Futures League, the home run that day was Martin’s second gun in Korea. Martin, who met with reporters after the game on the 4th, said, “It is always a pleasure to hit a home run. It’s comforting to see him come back after hitting a home run. He smiled brightly, saying, “It feels good to be back in good shape.”
At the same time, Martin said, “I had a lot of expectations before the start, but as soon as the season entered, I got injured and was very angry with me.” “I prepared really well during rehabilitation. He expressed confidence in his health, saying, “I am better prepared than ever before.”
Unlike the game on the 3rd, where he played as the designated hitter, on the 4th, Martin played the defense up to the 5th inning as a center fielder. He said, “(Even when defending) there was no pain or discomfort at the injured area. He did not hide his desire to return to the first team, saying, “I just want to return to the first team and play.”
Martin suffered an unexpected injury in a foreign country. His heartache must not have been the only one. Who was the NC member who helped him in trouble?
Martin said, “Trainer Kang Min-cheol and Kwon Seung-heon, who were in charge of rehabilitation, helped a lot,” and “(among the players) Park Min-woo continued to talk and encouraged me to actively engage in rehabilitation.”
He continued, “(In the NC team) it is okay to say that one person is your best friend. All the players are so good to me. To me, all the players are precious and my best friends,” he said, revealing his affection for his teammates.
As I said earlier, Martin is a player with big league experience. From his point of view, what is the biggest difference between the major leagues and the KBO league?
“The players who play in the major leagues are very good players,” said Martin, who recalled the time he played in the MLB, saying, “The KBO league players are also players with sufficiently good qualifications and skills. First of all, pitchers’ deception (hiding the ball well with a pitching form or changing the release point to steal the timing of batters when pitching) is good. The movement (of the ball) is also good. (Especially) the pitching motion is different from that of the major leagues. I think that is the biggest difference.”
Martin’s return to the first team is highly likely to be a three-game home match against the KIA Tigers at Changwon NC Park from the 5th. NC coach Kang In-kwon predicted Martin’s call-up ahead of the LG Twins game on the 4th (cancelled in rainy weather).
In addition, when Martin returns to the first team, there is a high probability of establishing himself as a built-in fourth hitter. Regarding the batting order upon 메이저사이트 his recent return to Martin, Coach Kang said, “I think it would be better to fix number 4… “I think I need to share my opinion with the coaches,” he said.
NC, which once rose to the top at the beginning of the season, has recently fallen into the middle ranks with difficulties in scoring. Until the game on the 5th, the batting average of the NC-centered batting line (3 to 5) was 0.241 (77 hits in 319 bats), the lowest among the 10 teams. If Martin, who has overcome his injury, takes over the 4th batting order, it can be a great help to NC.
Martin, who is about to return, said, “As a hitter, I want to help the pitcher by providing scoring support and playing good defense as an outfielder. He said, “I always think of this every time I enter the baseball field,” and said, “I want to contribute to leading the team to victory.”