Analysis: Only time will tell if J.D. Martinez is well-suited for playing in Boston

FORT MYERS, Fla. – At the introductory press conference, the right things are always said. So it was Monday with the newest member of the Red Sox, J.D. Martinez.

“Football has Monday nights, and they say at Fenway, every night’s like Monday Night Football,’’ said Martinez. “I’m excited. I love this game and I love to play. To play in front of fans that are just as passionate and love it just as much is exciting.’’

Martinez further mentioned the historic aspect of the franchise, the quality of the lineup and a few other perceived positives.

Good for him. When you get paid $110 million, you’re supposed to say nice things about your new employer.

But the fact is, we don’t really know how Martinez will adapt to Boston. And truthfully, neither do the Red Sox.

They can say they know. But they’ve been wrong before, too.

Sure, there’s some history here upon which to draw. Martinez played for Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in Detroit for a little more than a season-and-a-half.  Dombrowski can attest to Martinez’s work ethic and renowned preparation, and knows he got along well with teammates.

Some players who have played in only one city have a difficult time switching teams later in their career. But having already played for three other organizations in his career – originally, Houston, then Detroit after being released, then Arizona for the second half of last year – Martinez is accustomed to change and relocation.

So, for him, a new team isn’t a new experience.

But David Price had also played for three different organizations before coming to Boston. Also like, Martinez, he had been traded in-season – twice, in fact, going from Tampa Bay to Detroit one year, then Detroit to Toronto the following year. And we all know that Price’s transition to Boston has been far from smooth. He’s found the media intrusive and the fans overly demanding.

No doubt, the Red Sox did their homework on Martinez, checking with former teammates, coaches and front office personnel to determine whether or not Martinez would be a good fit for Boston.

But remember: the Red Sox did plenty of homework on Carl Crawford, too, before they signed him to the ill-fated, seven-year, $142 million deal. They went so far as to use private detectives to see what he did off the field.

After all of that legwork, Crawford was a disaster in Boston. He never felt comfortable, and years later, after the Red Sox miraculously unloaded the remainder of his deal on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Crawford continued to crush Boston whenever he had the chance.

It was the same with Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez arrived via a trade with the Padres, but the Red Sox soon extended him with a seven-year, $154 million deal.

With the Sox, Gonzalez performed better than Crawford, but he may have been more miserable in doing so, carping about having to play too many Sunday night games for the benefit of ESPN and wondering why fans took the team’s September 2011 slide so personally.

The Sox traded him to the Dodgers, too, in the deal in which they rid themselves of Crawford.

More recently, Price had his issues in Boston. He complained that fans and media didn’t give him enough credit for his charitable and philanthropic work, and made sure to remind Martinez that even legendary David Ortiz was booed “many times’’ at Fenway, and Martinez could expect the same treatment when things don’t go well.

(In an interview with WEEI minutes after his introductory press conference, Martinez seemed to dispute this, saying Price never warned him of the booing he’d encounter.)

It takes a special personality to handle Boston, especially when you don’t come up through the organization. It’s a sea change from small markets, from less intense West Coast markets, and friendlier Midwestern cities.

Everyone talks about the passion, the sold-out ballpark, and the energy that’s present almost every night. And successful teams are treated with reverence, with the players regarded as heroes.

Those are the positives.

But when teams – and individuals – underachieve, it can get ugly. When the players involved are making big money, the players have a virtual target on their backs.

It’s not for everybody.

If the Red Sox don’t know that by now, they should.