J.D. Martinez out to change notion he's a poor defender: 'I hate that label'

FORT MYERS, Fla. – J.D. Martinez is aware of his reputation as a below-average defender in the outfield. This season, in addition to bashing balls around and out of ballparks, he’s intent on changing that perception.

“I’ve always had this M.O. as a bad defender,’’ said Martinez. “But you talk to anybody who knows baseball and plays baseball, they’re going to say no. You can ask every coach from (Ron) Gardenhire, to Dave Clark to (Tony) La Russa to anybody who’s seen me play. They don’t know why people say I’m a bad defender. It’s all the analytics.’’

As recently as 2016, Martinez was judged to be 22 runs saved below average by Baseball Info Solutions. In 2017, that figure improved but was still below average (minus six runs saved).

“(To me), they have to fix the way they measure that stuff,’’ he said. “Maybe the way they do it is not as accurate as it’s supposed to be. When I went to Arizona, they measure in a different way and they told me, ‘Dude, you get to balls…we’re more than happy with what you’re doing’ (in the outfield).’’

Martinez, who took part in outfield drills Saturday and is eager to spend some time in the outfield later this week, works on his fielding nearly as much as he does on his hitting.

“I take it serious,’’ he said. “I get more pissed when I mess up in the outfield than I do at the plate. I take a lot of pride in it. I don’t feel like I’m a liability out there, as much as everyone wants to make it sounds that way. I’ve always been (motivated to prove that I can play out there). I’ve busted my butt (to play strong defense).’’

Martinez said there have been some extenuating circumstances to some of his defensive metrics, he broke his arm running into an outfield wall and was told by the Detroit Tigers not to pursue balls as aggressively. Then, in spring training of 2017, he suffered his foot injury, but the Tigers wanted his bat in the lineup and had him play the outfield anyway, preserving the DH spot for Victor Martinez.

So the notion that he’s weak in the field?

“I hate that label,’’ he said. “I take pride in (my defense).’’

To hear Martinez tell it, he’s going to get plenty of opportunities to change that reputation.

“I think the way Alex (Cora) explained it to me is, ‘Hey, it’s not just that you’re the DH. I’d like to do a rotation,'" Martinez said. “This way, it gives guys days off their feet, which I think is smart. It keeps guys like Mookie (Betts) and Jackie (Bradley Jr.) and (Andrew Benintendi)  – guys who are burners – some days off their feet in the outfield.’’

Fenway will provide its challenges. Most obviously, there the 37-foot high Green Monster to which he must get acclimated.

“You just have to work on it,’’ he said. “I feel like, when I played in Houston, that (left field) wall was tough, too. I feel like the wall in Houston is trickier than the wall in Fenway.  First of all, it’s all metal. The ball hits and sometimes (rebounds) all the way to second base. And there’s a little cut-out (in the wall) and you have to go back and you don’t where that’s going to go. But (playing the Monster) is definitely going to take some time with the bounces and seeing how the ball plays off it.’’

The Sox have ruled out center field, but may have Martinez see some time in right, which is spacious and quirky in Fenway.

“I think I can play it; it’s just getting used to it,’’ he said. “The hardest part is understanding the (amount of) ground behind you. You’re not used to that much ground behind you, because it gets so deep, so quick there that you have to play up. I remember when I played there (for) Detroit, a ball in landed in front of me and I was like, ‘How’d that ball land?’

“And when I went back to look at the video, I was playing back, where I usually play, according to the fence behind me. And that’s not how you play there. You have to play up and know that space is behind you.’’