Ausmus Compares J.D. Martinez's Power To That Of Miguel Cabrera
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - When Detroit Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez smacked the first home run of the major league baseball season in his first at bat Monday, it did not surprise Tigers manager Brad Ausmus.
"He's had tremendous power," Ausmus said after the game. "As a matter of fact, I thought that was gone off the bat. It just has a different sound to it. He's right there with Miggy in terms of being able to drive the ball to right center. He might be a tick behind Miggy, but he has tremendous power."
A comparison to Miguel Cabrera, a two-time MVP who won the Triple Crown a couple of years ago, is obviously just about the highest praise a batter could hope for. Told of this compliment in the locker room, Martinez just laughed it off.
"I don't know if it's all that," Martinez said. "I know Miggy's unbelievable, especially what he was able to do here with the Triple Crown in this ball park. You ask [outfielder Yoenis] Cespedes today about it, the triple he hit off the ball, he said he crushed it, he thought it was gone, and it hit off the wall. And I was, 'You've got to hit them here.'"
Martinez had a career season in 2014. The numbers - .315 batting average, 23 home runs - represented such a departure from his production in previous seasons that many fans are bracing for some sort of letdown this year. Though others may be looking at his 2015 season in the context of his 2014 season, Martinez wants to take it a game at a time and not dwell on his earlier success.
"I'm really not worried about last year," Martinez said. "I'm trying to worry about this year and what's in front of me, just next game we have and Nolasco [who will pitch Wednesday against the Tigers] and what he throws, and that's it, really. I'm not trying to worry about what I'm trying to do last year. This is a new year, new start, new, different team."
Sure, he admits, in a sense it would be great to prove to any doubters that he can sustain that success, but what people think is not his concern.
"I really don't pay much mind to it," Martinez said. "I just kind of, like I said earlier, just try to worry about today. I feel like if you get caught up in all that stuff, that's all the elements that you can't control. You can control going out there, preparing yourself for a game, studying the pitcher and going up there and putting some good at bats together."
The Tigers snapped Martinez up when the Houston Astros released him during 2014 spring training after parts of three seasons in the majors and so-so numbers to show for it. Martinez had changed his swing at the suggestion of Astros coaches, however, and the retooling - guided by another swing coach, whom Martinez has declined to name - made an enormous impact.
During the recent offseason, he fine-tuned the new swing.
"Getting rid of the old swing, there's new problems and new things that play in now, and that's game, that's baseball," Martinez said. "There's always going to be an adjustment. There's always going to be some kind of adjustment you have to make. The moment you think you've got it figured out, that's when baseball will just put you right back down."
Happily for the Tigers, it has not put Martinez down yet.
