McAdam: At midpoint of the season, J.D. Martinez a full-on success

Eighty-one down, eighty-one to go.

There's the promise of a great finish to the two-team race of rivals in the American League and uncertainty over how the second half of the season will unfold. Some surprises are in store and who knows what role injuries or July trade acquisitions will play.

But halfway through the season, this much is certain: the Red Sox absolutely made the right call when they signed free agent J.D. Martinez in February. Of that, there can be no doubt.

The Red Sox lacked power. They finished last in the American League in homers last season and that deficiency -- along with some brutal starting pitching -- ultimately spelled their demise in October.

So it was entirely fitting that in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels, a game that marked the unofficial midpoint of their season, Martinez hit his 25th homer. And why is that significant? Because it meant that exactly one-half of this season, Martinez had collected more homers than any member of the Red Sox did in all of last season.

How's that for symmetry?

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The homer -- a three-run crank to the Monster Seats in left -- also held some other historical significance. It allowed Martinez to become the first Red Sox player in history to reach 25 homers before the end of June. That's something that no one -- not Ted Williams, not Carl Yastrzemski, not Jim Rice and not David Ortiz had accomplished.

"It's an honor,'' said Martinez. "To be mentioned alongside them, it's awesome. But you guys know how I am -- on to the next one. Who do we got tomorrow?''

He scoffed when asked if he had set any statistical goals for himself at the start of the season.

"No,'' he said, making a face. "My goal is to not give a single at-bat away.''

When you set a home-run record -- artificial as it may be, for "half'' a season -- for a franchise that has been around for more than a century, you're doing something right.

But Martinez is seemingly doing everything right, especially at home. Remember the talk that Fenway might not be a good ballpark for Martinez? Remember the talk that the deep right field would take away too many homers? Seventeen of his 25 homers have come at home, where he owns an .819 slugging percentage.

He's hit them to left, to center and to right.

"That's who I am,'' shrugged Martinez of his multi-field approach. "That's what I've always done. It's what I pride myself on. It's just what I do.''

And it's worth noting that, after finishing dead last in the A.L. last year in homers, the Red Sox now are second with 116 and are on pace to threaten the club mark set in 2003. Martinez has had that sort of impact.

If that's all he had done, the signing would be successful enough. Almost singlehandedly, Martinez has changed the lineup's identity and dynamic.

But he's meant so much more.

"It goes (well beyond) his production,'' said Alex Cora. "We saw today, Raffy (Rafael Devers) staying in there against lefties and putting up good at-bats ... communication with Mookie (Betts) ... there's more that goes on. He's a special player and a special hitter and he's becoming a special teammate. What he brings to the table is more than he does on the field.

"He's becoming the leader of the team in the clubhouse and we're very proud of him.''

Give Cora credit, too, for he forecasted this when Martinez signed. Cora predicted that Martinez's obsessive, scholarly approach to the science of hitting would affect the rest of the roster. He envisioned players sharing information and advice in the dugout during the game, because he knew that Martinez had a reputation for just that sort of behavior.

Without, of course, taking credit for it, Martinez praised the Sox for the team they've become.

"This is a good team,'' said Martinez, "not just on the field, but in the clubhouse. The chemistry's great here. We have a really good team and everyone pulls for each other, everyone is constantly trying to learn. I think it's a team that every day just wants to grow and wants to get better. And that's rare -- you don't see that very often.''

You don't see players like Martinez very often, either, on a pace to challenge Ortiz's franchise record for most homers in a season and someone who could well contend for the Triple Crown.

But gaudy as they are, those are mere personal numbers. Martinez's biggest contributions can be found in the standings, where the Red Sox have the most number of wins in the game, and a clubhouse culture that has, thanks to him, undergone a dramatic turnaround.