FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It's not often a player receives a loud ovation from a sold-out ballpark simply for walking to the plate. Then again, J.D. Martinez can expect a lot of "firsts'' this season.
"That was cool, definitely cool,'' said Martinez, who was given a warm reception for his first official at-bat in a Red Sox uniform in the Red Sox' 7-1 drubbing by the Minnesota Twins. "It was humbling and pretty cool to get that kind of ovation in a spring training game.''
Martinez didn't agree to the terms of his five-year, $110 million contract with the Red Sox until spring training had begun, and then waited another week while he underwent additional testing and the club and his agent worked out some language to adjust the terms of the contract. Merely facing live pitching in a game situation -- even if it was only a Grapefruit League game -- was welcome.
The J.D. Martinez era is underway! #RedSox #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/zo42PdkyTM
— NESN (@NESN) March 7, 2018
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