J. D. Martinez Quotes

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.

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

I love my country. I love this country.

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

You can say baseball’s fun, you’re in the big leagues, you get to come to a Major League field every day – and, yeah, that’s great. I love it.

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

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.

Contrary to everyone’s belief of ‘J.D. is a launch-angle guy. He wants to get the ball in the air and this and that.’ This is true, but you’re not trying to force situations, trying to force things.

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

I started playing ball when I was 4 years old.

I preach about getting the ball in the air.

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?

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

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.

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

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.’

Everything happens for a reason.

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.’

Whoever’s hitting in front of you or behind you is going to determine how you get pitched, but there’s nothing you can do.

You know, this league is all about adjustments, and the one thing you kinda notice when you’re playing every day is how teams make adjustments. Once you start having a little bit of success, they are going to make their adjustment.

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

I always talk about it like I’m a hitter first and if I’m doing things right and my body’s in the right place, I drive the baseball.

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

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

I love to talk about hitting. It’s a passion of mine.

I want to be on a team that’s got a chance. That’s what’s fun. That’s what you play the game for.

Detroit will always have a special place in my heart.

I told Pedro this story: I used to wear a freakin’ Pedro Martinez jersey because it had ‘Martinez’ on the back.

I think about my journey sometimes.

I’ll never say a bad word about the Astros.

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.

When I’m at my best, I’m ready to hit from pitch one. When I go up there and I’m passive, I’m not as successful.

I’d say the challenge of DHing is going to be learning the routine and to stay loose and stay warm and kind of be ready for it.

I busted my butt in ’15. Then in ’16, I broke my arm running into a wall, so then I got scared of running into walls because I didn’t want to get hurt again.

Any time you go into the playoff game everyone’s adrenaline is high and tensions are going, stuff like that.

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.

I played street basketball for a while and wanted to play competitively, but I was so used to the street-style of game that I would have fouled out by the end of the first quarter.

I’ve been on a bunch of teams in my career.

I’ve always loved hitting, and even as a kid, I always hit.

I think I’m a funny guy.

Whenever you see me and I’m hitting ground ball after ground ball, you know I’m not feeling right.

I have so many memories of going fishing and camping as a kid, and my dad had season tickets to watch the Marlins – and that’s where I fell in love with the game.

The last thing I wanted to do was get buried in Triple-A behind prospects.

I love my story. I wouldn’t change it. It gives it character. It’s never been on a silver spoon.

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.

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.’

To me, I just play baseball, whether I have the contract or not.

I’m always just grinding and figuring out what adjustment I need to make and how to tweak my swing to where I want it to be for that game and that pitcher.

There aren’t too many Mookie Betts, Mike Trouts or Bryce Harpers out there to be grabbed. Those players only come around once every 10 years.

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

I think I’ve grown over the years and learned about who I am and what I can do and what I can’t do.

It’s fun coming to the ballpark when you’re winning.

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

Rodney Linares really stuck his neck out in Greenville to play me, because they had their prospects, guys who they had invested money in.

Obviously, I have to do what’s best for me and my family; I’ve got to put that first. But I definitely want to be on a team that’s in contention.

I think my failures in Houston is what made me who I am. I think it’s given me that drive, that drive to keep working, because you never know what can happen type deal.

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.

We want the fans to be in it, because when they’re in it, it makes you kind of live up to it.

Everyone’s path is their own.

To me, you can always get better.

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

I’ve lost a lot. I’m tired of it. It’s not fun.

You have to go up there, and it’s you vs. the pitcher. No one’s there to help you. That’s how I go about it.

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 found a place in Boston, a home in Boston, and I’m pretty happy here.

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.