J. D. Martinez Quotes

When I fall behind, my swing changes.

I think I’m a funny guy.

I grew up in Miami watching baseball down there, so you could see it from one extreme to the next. It was like, ‘Well, this is what baseball is about.’

All through Miami, the guys who grew up with me hitting at the place I hit, they all call me Flaco. Nobody calls me J.D. It’s like, ‘Hey, Flaco.’

When you’re up there and everything feels good and you’re competing against the pitcher and the pitcher strikes you out, you’re like, ‘OK, yeah, I struck out, but that’s OK.’

I was able to play alongside, in my opinion, the best hitter with Miguel Cabrera and kind of watch the way he goes about it and the way he looks at situations, when to try to drive a ball versus when to shoot a ball.

You can’t say it’s good when guys out there are signing minor league deals and they would be big league players on 80 percent of the teams, but why would a team sign a player when you can pay dirt, and they’re not going to win anyway?

I stand by the Constitution and I stand by the Second Amendment and it’s something that I take pride in. It’s something that I’ll back up.

Everyone here has a right to their own political beliefs and everybody has the right to stand by what they believe in. That’s what makes us American.

We’re all not going to agree on the same things, but that’s what makes this country so great.

It sucks when you can’t play the game you love.

I never go a day without talking to either my mom or dad, and my sister is one of the smartest people I know.

I get to play what I dreamed about since I was a kid. So, on that end, I love it. But I also take pride in it.

Kids want to see relevant teams.

Obviously, this is a job, it’s a grind, but it’s what you love to do. It’s your passion.

I never pressure anyone to believe what I believe. It’s their choice. But when guys ask me, I’m always open, and I share.

I’m usually rough during Spring Training. My Spring Training numbers aren’t very good, but I never expect them to be.

That’s one thing I learned from watching great hitters hit. A lot of hitters, they’re ready to hit from pitch one.

Obviously, I’m sad to leave Houston. I love the fans and players and everyone here.

Just kind of finding it, that’s what Spring Training is for, to work on stuff and get ready.

My whole life, I’ve felt like I’ve always had to prove myself. It’s never been easy, as easy as others who are in my position have had it.

My parents taught me that in life, you get out what you put in.

My teammate Torii Hunter taught me how to lead and provide encouragement to the locker room.

I’m a very analytical guy, I like to study my swing, I like to study what my back foot is doing, my elbow, whatever it might be, and there’s a lot of guys nowadays that are like that. That’s the trend of the game, that’s the way the game has gone.

That’s why, to me, Spring Training is so hard, because every time you go up there, there’s a new pitcher, and you have to come up with a new plan.

To me, you can always get better.

If I’m ready to hit early, if I get fooled, then whatever. I’ve still got two more strikes.

To me grinding out a good at-bat is pretty much fighting. And it’s not trying to do too much with pitches, just finding a way to spoil a good pitcher’s pitches, really.

I don’t go up there and try to hit home runs.

Man, it literally starts from after the game. I get every at-bat sent to me from the game. I’ll go home, I’ll watch every at-bat, kind of break down the game, kind of see, OK, what did I do? Why’d I miss this pitch? Why’d I hit that pitch?

I had to lower my hands, I had to work my hips a different way. I also had to stride to get the power. I’d always been a standstill hitter and had to generate power from my upper body. Basically, I had to change everything I was doing. It was really difficult.

I just want to go deep in the playoffs and be put in that situation where I’m locked in and the game and the season is on the line.

Obviously, I love Boston. I love the passion. It kind of matches my personality. The fans, I almost feel like they’re just as passionate as me.

You want to see the team that is in the playoffs.

Losing is incentivized now. You have 80 percent of the teams trying to lose.

I mean, I learned a lot from Houston. And you know what? It made me who I am and there’s really no animosity there. In a sense, they did me a favor by allowing me to leave and going to play on another team.

I started playing ball when I was 4 years old.

I want to win championships.

Sometimes you just need a spark, and then boom, boom, boom, now the bats come alive.

Control what I can control. Study the pitchers, work hard, put the work in. That’s all I can control.