Former NSU baseball player J. D. Martinez has had a very good year. First, he was named the Best Hitting Prospect in the South Atlantic League of Low Class A baseball by Baseball America. Now, he has been given an MVP award in the Class A South Atlantic League.
Martinez was a business administration major at NSU before being drafted by the Houston Astros in 2009 at the end of his junior year. He now plays right fielder for the Corpus Christi Hooks.
Head NSU Baseball Coach Greg Brown, who was previously a scout for the Houston Astros and drafted and signed Martinez to the team, said that Martinez has handled his success well.
“I think that he knows that he has to perform in order to get where he wants to go and sustain that level of excellence,” Brown said. “I think he’s been very humble, and he’s realizes that he’s had a lot of success early. And all it’s done is opened up more doors for him, but he’s got to keep plugging along.”
Brown said that although Martinez has a natural gift for hitting, he never stopped trying to make himself better and that his ability to make adjustments was what made him better than everybody else.
“He would routinely, after practice here, go and hit more,” he said, “and he put in the extra time. That’s why his success isn’t a surprise to any of us — the guys who coached him and me as a scout — because I knew that hitting wasn’t going to be an issue for him.”
The extra time shows in Martinez’s love for the game.
“I get mesmerized by it,” Martinez said. “I just love the game. In order to really play this game, you really have to love it. You can’t just like it.”
Associate Head Coach Ray Romero recruited Martinez from Charles W. Flanagan High School and observed Martinez’s passion for the game and sociability with his teammates.
“Heading into his junior year, he was seen as a leader,” Romero said. “Players respect his ability and he did help other hitters improve and encouraged his teammates. He was a lot of fun to be around.”
Cliff Terracuso, recruiting coordinator, agreed.
“He was very, very competitive, but he was very funny too,” he said. “Always smiling. Always goofy. Always joking with his buddies.”
Martinez said that the baseball team at NSU was like family.
“Everybody would hang out on the field and off the field,” he said. “We could just talk like brothers.”
Martinez said he was humbled by these recognitions and grateful to his coaches for giving him the opportunity to play baseball.
“I thank my coaches all the time,” he said. “Without my family and coaches I wouldn’t be where I am right now. They’ve always been there and encouraged me and helped out really. You learn things along the road from every person you encounter. All the coaches at NSU had a lot of things to tell me.”
Martinez plans to return to NSU next year and finish his degree during the off seasons.
“Right now, just play the game and see how far it can take me,” said Martinez. “God willing, this will be my career. If it doesn’t, I have my education from NSU to lean back on.”
