When he showed up this spring, Nationals skipper Davey Martinez knew he had a challenge on his hands: he was going to have to manage a lot differently than he did in, say, 2019.
“Back then we had so many established guys, so I was there to support them. Now I find myself doing more coaching, being more hands-on on the field, communicating with younger players and talking with them, and that’s something I wanted to do,” Davey told Grant & Danny this week. “I want to get them to understand the game and how much the little things really do matter, like two-strike approach, base running, hitting with runners in scoring position – where I told them to relax and get the ball up in the zone, and don’t chase.”
Martinez has been ‘exhausted every day,’ but that’s a good thing to him.
“It’s been great; I’m loving this, and it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “These guys have all bought in. We still have so many young guys that I have to keep doing it, too – it’s still that process of being consistent. It’s an ongoing process for me as these guys keep coming, but they’re hungry, and we’re gonna surprise some people I think.”
Oh, and speaking of being aggressive on the bases, well, Davey had a funny story about catcher Riley Adams maybe taking that TOO much to heart.
“What we really want to preach is going first to third – some of the best baserunners I’ve ever seen weren’t that fast but did that well. I want guys to understand that part of the game and we’re trying to push these guys, so we were in a situation where we wanted guys to get good leads…and Riley takes off to steal!” Martinez laughed. “It was close, but did not end well, and when I asked what happened, and (first base coach Gerardo) Parra said, ‘you said we have to be aggressive!’ I was like, no, that’s a little too much, and I told Riley we probably need another two feet of expanded bases for that.”
Still a lot to learn, but this is the time to do it.
“It’s still early and guys are still working to get ready, but once we get past this off-day, it’s time to start competing,” Martinez said. “Winning is the ultimate goal, so I want them to understand that, and for me, it’s imperative to start off good, so I want to push them to get going.”