“Boom!” That has to be the most iconic way to start a press conference, especially if you are Davey Martinez and have just led your team from zero to hero in one baseball season flat. Davey is an iconic king and we need to protect him at all costs.
Davey is a Libra, having been born on September 26 of 1964 in Brooklyn, New York. He’s left-handed, which makes him extra awesome. In fact, only ten percent of the nation is left-handed. Not only that, but during his playing career that spanned from 1986 until 2001, Davey has racked up an incredible career full of insane stats! In 6,4800 plate appearances including 5,795 at-bats; Davey has enjoyed 1,599 career hits; 795 career runs; 91 home runs; 580 runs batted in; and 183 stolen bases. In addition, he has hit to second base 238 times and to third base 72 times.
With statistics like that, it’s no wonder that Davey has been nothing short of a positive influence during his coaching and managerial career. He coached the Rays from 2008 until 2014. I recall being so excited when the Rays beat the Red Sox to advance to the World Series. I was still scorned by Boston beating my beloved Colorado Rockies the year before in the World Series four games to none. I have been a supporter of that team since that year. I pray they get a World Series win soon.
Davey is a two-time World Series champion, with the Chicago Cubs in 2016 and most recently with the miracle Washington Nationals in 2019. The last game of the 2016 World Series is stuck in my head with a mixture of maple syrup and rubber cement (gross and oddly specific combination, I know). I was lying in my bed at college, and I was getting very aggravated with how long the game was going on. My sister and I were expressing our frustrations about the game constantly being in weather delay. When Chicago came back from a 3-1 deficit against Cleveland, my sister apologized to me because she knew I wanted Cleveland to win. However, all I could think of was how Chicago won the title only one year after the Back to the Future films predicted they would. Hopefully there is a biopic about the 2016 Cubs or there will be soon.
I refuse to forget the Washington Nationals’ storybook season last year. I wrote a whole post about that I will link below about what a wonderful team they were. After his team got off to a quite forgettable start, people were starting to get unhappy and demand that Davey be fired. Starting on May 24, Davey and his team started getting the last laugh. I remember a lot about that team, from Trea Turner’s second cycle versus Colorado to the team making a major rally back against their bitter rival New York Mets.
I still recall standing in the airport, waiting for my family member to arrive home from Great Britain. I remember constantly checking for updates and just accepting the fact that the Milwaukee Brewers would win the sudden-death Wild Card game. I was fortunate to be wrong as Milwaukee blew the most dangerous lead in sports, the 3-1 lead. A wave of relief flooded over me. I would get to see a team I appreciate advance.
I was very nervous when they played the Los Angeles Dodgers, because they had the best record in the National League. I made sure to drink plenty of hot cocoa mixed with coffee creamer as a good luck charm. I remember being sure that the Dodgers would win the sudden-death Game 5 of the National League Division Series on a walk-off. I said I could smell it with my one good nostril (for context, my nose was half-stuffed at that time). Boy, was my nostril wrong! Howie Kendrick’s grand slam/four-run home run sealed the deal. Los Angeles was eliminated from the playoffs, and the Nationals had won their first division series. Winning your first playoff series is great, but against a powerhouse team like Los Angeles is extra amazing.
After winning the National League Championship Series four games to zero and being the first team to win all four World Series road games, I knew that Davey was the right fit for the team. I am so glad he is the manager. When he said that bumpy roads lead to beautiful places, he was right. Zero to hero. The most beautiful bounce back in the sports ball world. I still wish that somebody would film a biopic on the team’s bounce back series. If Oakland gets a biopic about their miraculous 2002 season, why can’t the same happen for the baseball team deep in the heart of the capital of the United States?
Davey and his family are also kind humans, having opened their home to son Dalton’s closest friend Mike Love. Mike had a turbulent childhood, but his friendship with Dalton Martinez was so close that he spent his weekends with the Martinez family. Dalton eventually mentioned that if Mike moved in with his family, he would be able to turn his life around. It happened. He turned his academic life around and ended up having a successful college career, having graduated from the University of South Florida with a criminal justice degree. Who else remembers The Blind Side—both the biography and the biopic? It’s literally a very similar situation, and that is so kind of Davey to do that.
Beautiful roads often lead to bumpy places. Davey Martinez, who is a king, is very right.
SOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Martinez
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/martida01.shtml
Elephants & Extra Base Hits 