Blue Jays Flashback: Buck Martinez
Tough times on and off the field, Buck Martinez has waited long enough to feature in our Blue Jays Flashback series. Over to you, Kevin Glew.
Buck Martinez is Toronto Blue Jays baseball.
If you don’t believe me, you should have been in St. Marys, Ont., for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame induction weekend this June.
In town to receive the Hall’s Jack Graney Award for his longtime broadcasting career, Martinez was the most popular celebrity in town.
Signs on the street welcomed him. He paid an unscheduled visit to an assisted living facility. He chatted it up with local minor ball teams. And he received not one, but two standing ovations on induction day.
And it all felt right for someone who has given their heart and soul to a Canadian baseball franchise for close to four decades, and along the way also courageously conquered cancer.
“To you fans, I want to thank you for the great support you have given me over the years,” Martinez said from the stage in St. Marys. “A couple of years ago, I got some rough news. Fortunately for me, I saw the best doctors in the world. I had the great support of my wife and my family, and I had all those wonderful messages I got from all those hundreds of people across Canada, bringing me encouragement and support. I thank you for that because we kicked its [cancer’s] ass.”
But as wonderful and heart-warming as that weekend was, I realised again that there is a generation of Blue Jays fans who only know Martinez as a broadcaster. And for those of us middle-aged and older, we know he is much more than that. Martinez was a valuable catcher for the Blue Jays for six seasons from 1981 to 1986. He was also the club’s manager in 2001 and for part of 2002.
His fame north of the border is not something Martinez could have imagined for himself when he was growing up. Born in Redding, Calif., in 1948, Martinez was introduced to baseball by his father, John, and his mother, Shirley.
“My mom had a lot to do with it because she was from a family of 13,” explained Martinez. “She was Native American from Northern California, and all her brothers were good athletes. So, she would throw me batting practice and she would play catch with me all the time as a four or five-year-old.”
Martinez moved to Sacramento during his youth and starred as a catcher at Elk Grove High School before he was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1967.
In his first pro season, he batted .357 in 77 games for the Phillies’ Low-A Nothern League affiliate in Eugene, Ore. In December 1968, he was selected by the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 Draft, but he was only with the Astros for two weeks prior to being dealt to the Kansas City Royals.
He’d catch for the Royals for parts of eight seasons before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals following the 1977 campaign. The Cardinals flipped him to the Milwaukee Brewers on the same day. He suited up for three seasons with the Brewers prior to being swapped to the Blue Jays on May 10, 1981.
“When I first came to Toronto, it was an opportunity for me to play again,” said Martinez. “I was in Milwaukee, and I was the fourth-string catcher so anywhere I got a chance to play was going to be welcome.”
Bobby Mattick was the Blue Jays manager when Martinez arrived, but the club hired Bobby Cox after the season, which was a turning point for the franchise.
“When we had our first spring training with Bobby Cox, he called everybody into the office, and he told them what he expected of them,” recalled Martinez. “And my meeting with him was, ‘You and Ernie [Whitt] are both alike, I can’t see much difference. You’re going to play against lefties and Ernie is going to play against righties. Have a good year.’ And that’s the way Bobby was. But you always knew where you stood with Bobby. He was tremendously supportive.”
In 96 games in 1982, Martinez set career-highs with 10 home runs, and 17 doubles. Defensively, he threw out 46 per cent of runners attempting to steal off him, which was second-best in the American League.
He followed that up with another 10-homer season in 1983 and set career highs in batting average (.253) and slugging percentage (.452).
His offensive numbers dropped off from there, but he continued to platoon with Whitt in 1985 when the Blue Jays were atop the American League East standings. Unfortunately, Martinez wouldn’t be able to finish the season thanks to his efforts in a play that Mattick once called “the greatest baseball play” he had ever seen.
On July 9, 1985, Martinez was catching against the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome. In the bottom of the third inning, Mariners outfielder Phil Bradley led off with a single. A balk by pitcher Tom Filer moved Bradley to second base and Gorman Thomas then singled to right field where Jesse Barfield picked up the ball and tossed a bullet to Martinez at home plate.
Bradley barreled Martinez over, but the Blue Jays catcher managed to hold on to the ball for the out. While Martinez was down, Thomas continued running and was headed for third when Martinez, almost from his back, threw the ball past third baseman Garth Iorg. Thomas rounded third while left fielder George Bell retrieved the ball and threw it home where Martinez, barely able to sit up, caught it and tagged Thomas for the 9-2-7-2 double play. Following the play, Martinez was carted off on a stretcher and it was later revealed that he had a dislocated ankle and broken fibula.
Thirty-six at the time, Martinez was determined to play again and was back with the Blue Jays in 1986. He batted .181 in 81 games and was asked to come to general manager Pat Gillick’s office after the season where he met with Gillick, Paul Beeston and manager Jimy Williams. Gillick informed Martinez that they wouldn’t be re-signing him.
“Then Paul Beeston, as only Beeston could say, ‘Albert [Buck’s middle name], you want to do TV?’” recalled Martinez. “And I said, ‘No, I think I’m going to go play again.’ So, I get home, and I told [his wife] Arlene about the meeting. I said, ‘I turned down the TV job.’ She said, ‘Call them back. You can’t play anymore.’”
So, he did and that’s how his full-time broadcasting career began. He was hired to be a colour commentator on TSN’s Blue Jays broadcasts.
After leaving the booth to serve as the Blue Jays manager for parts of two seasons in 2001 and 2002, he worked as a TV analyst for the Baltimore Orioles from 2003 to 2009, before returning to the Blue Jays TV broadcast crew in 2010. He has now been part of the Sportsnet broadcast team for the past 15 seasons.
So, needless to say, he was a worthy recipient of the Canadian ball hall’s Jack Graney Award, which is presented annually to a member of the media who has made significant contributions to baseball in Canada through their life’s work.
Martinez will turn 76 in November. I’m not sure how many years he has left behind the mike, but judging by his reception in St. Marys on induction weekend, Blue Jays fans are hoping it’s many more.
Like most of us, they can’t fathom listening to a broadcast without the man who is Blue Jays baseball.
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