Everybody in baseball was talking about Shohei Ohtani after the Angels' star's performance Sunday night. And J.D. Martinez was no exception.
"I saw Ohtani hit the ball 900 feet and 900 mph off his bat," the Red Sox designated hitter said Monday.
Actually, it was 115.2 mph off the bat of Ohtani, who launched the home run 451 feet. And to top things off, the Angels' DH and No. 2 hitter also threw a pitch 101.1 mph.
"Dude, that was wild," he said. "When I saw that thing it said 115-point-something, that’s hard. I don’t even know who, that’s like (Mike) Stanton/(Aaron)Judge-type power right there. I don’t know who hits the ball that hard. And then to throw the ball 100 mph. That’s crazy. And his splitter was the most impressive thing. It was 93 mph and moving like a knuckleball. It’s impressive. That kid has a lot of talent."
According to StatCast, the farthest Martinez has ever hit a ball was 467 feet (in 2015), with his top exit velocity coming in 2018 on a ball hit 116.7 mph.
But while the Sox slugger can stake claim to comparable hitting exploits regarding Ohtani, pitching can't enter into the conversation.
"Yeah, when I was like 13 (years old)," Martinez said when asked if he had ever pitched. "Actually, I pitched in high school one time. We were playing like the worst team in our division and our coach told me straight up, ‘JD, you should throw a perfect game. You should throw a no-hitter against these guys. I’m not even joking. This team is awful. There’s no way they beat you.’ I gave up four runs in the second inning and I never pitched again. He’s like, ‘alright, get back to the outfield.’"
Martinez is one of the few Red Sox hitters to actually claim a few hard-hit balls through the first three games, going 6-for-12 with a home run.
Part of the success, he explained, stems from a comfort level that wasn't there in 2020, when in-game video wasn't allowed.
"That’s huge," Martinez said of having video this season. "Being able to grab a guy and go break down the video, obviously it’s still kind of hard because we aren’t allowed to use communal computers until we get the vaccination or whatever. But being able to look at the iPad and show him the things I see and compare him to the swings they have on their phone and what they’ve been able to do in the past and just line things up. That’s something I’ve always been really good at. That’s something my teams have always leaned on me for. And something I always have been able to help with. I enjoy doing it because I learn from it too. I see certain moves guys make and sometimes it reminds me of certain things. So, I’ve always enjoyed doing it so it’s a benefit for both parties."
