Wake Up With Victor Martinez Hitting Three Home Runs Against The Royals
Serious question — is Victor Martinez one of the most underrated hitters in baseball? I honestly think he has to be right up there at the top of the list. This guy is 37 years old, and he’s hitting .338 with a .945 OPS this year. The Tigers’ DH hit .335 two years ago, and .330 in 2011. The man can flat out hit, but you never hear his name mentioned in the conversation as one of the game’s best hitters. It’s strange. He’s never been the best hitter in the American League, but he finished fourth in the league in batting in 2011, was the runner-up for the batting title in 2014, and he’s fourth in the league in hitting this year, seventh in OPS.
V-Mart was with the Red Sox for parts of two seasons in 2009 and 2010, so I got to see him play every day, and he’s really fun to watch. He plays the game with a ton of passion, and his teammates love him. But then I think back to the 2013 American League Championship Series between the Tigers and the Red Sox, and all the focus was on Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder in the middle of that Tigers batting order — and rightfully so. But Martinez didn’t get any of the hype. He just went on to hit .364 that series, while Cabrera hit .273, and Fielder hit .182, and the Tigers went on to lose in six games. No respect.