Red Sox: J.D. Martinez latest feat puts more egg on faces of Astros brass

Well, this is kind of old news by now, though with every J.D. Martinez hitting feat we like to bring it back to the forefront. Martinez, who smacked three home runs in one game for the Boston Red Sox, used to play for the Houston Astros. Martinez has hit 219 home runs since the Astros kicked him to the curb after the 2013 season. After a poor hitting performance in 2020, J.D. appears to be back.

Through eight games on the season, Martinez is hitting .472 and has driven in 16 runs. It’s easy to put up video game numbers in the first couple of weeks, but the true measure is if a hitter can sustain the numbers over a 162 game season.

Who cares?

J.D. Martinez became the fifth player in Major League history to hit three home runs in a game with three different teams, when he smacked three bombs for the Red Sox.

Right now we are enjoying the offensive outburst from Martinez. His seven doubles lead the majors, his OPS of 1.583 is ridiculous. He leads the Sox in every offensive category, and appears to be cured from whatever ailed him a year ago. If the Red Sox believe their season is going anywhere this year, they need J.D. to be a big part of the offense.

As for the past, he continues to distance himself from the team who drafted him and gave up on him before he came into his own.

When I first saw this stat, I figured the Astros would be on the list. I mean the guy was there for three years and only played in 62 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks. That was long enough though. Maybe had Martinez hit three home runs in a game with the Astros, he wouldn’t have been released in spring training of 2014.

A lot has changed since then, and the front office in Houston has seen turnover. Sometimes players just need a change of scenery to find their groove. For a team who has been lauded lately for finding gems in the draft and developing talent within their system, they missed on J.D. Martinez.

His career from that point on had been evidence of this, and his three homer feat Sunday is just another notch in his belt, and bad taste for Astros fans.