Longtime Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez appears ready to hang up the spikes after the 2018 season.
Throughout most of the 2018 season, Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez has struggled. With a month and a half left to go in the 2018 season, Martinez finds himself hitting just .244/.294/.331 (69 OPS+) with six home runs and 39 RBI.
In a recent interview with FOX Sports Detroit, Martinez confirmed what many have expected for some time now: this will likely be his final season. When asked if he hoped to play in 2019, The 39-year-old said he’s “pretty sure [this will be his last year.]”
Though he has struggled in recent seasons, Martinez has enjoyed a very successful major league career with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Tigers. He came up as a catcher and made three All-Star teams with the Indians between 2004-09. He was also an All-Star with the Red Sox in 2010.
Martinez first joined the Tigers prior to the 2011 season, signing a four-year, $50 million deal. He ended up being part of a great era of Tigers baseball when the team sat atop of the AL Central for four consecutive seasons.
Martinez had a huge impact in his first season in Detroit. He hit .330/.380/.470 (131 OPS+) with 12 home runs and 103 RBIs and helped lead Detroit to its first playoff berth since 2006.
After missing the following season due to a knee injury, Martinez rebounded to hit .301/.355/.430 (113 OPS+) with 14 and 83 RBI in 2013. During the 2014 campaign, Martinez enjoyed what was quite arguably the best season of his career. He was named an All-Star for the fifth time of his career and ended the season hitting .335/.409/.565 with 32 home runs and 103 RBI across 641 plate appearances. He finished as the runner up to Mike Trout in the AL MVP voting.
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After the 2014 season, the Tigers signed Martinez to a four-year, $68 million deal. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Martinez last four years in a Tigers uniform have largely been a struggle.
After suffering another offseason knee injury, Martinez numbers took a massive dip in 2015. He did bounce back to hit .289/.351/.476 (121 OPS+) with 27 home runs and 86 RBI, but he has graded out as a below replacement level player since the beginning of 2017.
As of this moment, Martinez has a .295/.360/.455 (118 OPS+) career batting line with 2,126 career hits and 243 home runs. He has accumulated 32.2 bWAR. Martinez may not quite have the credentials to end up in Cooperstown, but will likely earn votes and consideration when his name does appear on the ballot.
Moreover, who knows where his numbers might have ended up if he had not had to battle through so many injuries. In any case, Martinez will go down as one of the best switch-hitters of his time and one of the best Detroit Tigers in recent memory.