Buck Martinez
Buck Martinez
John Albert "Buck" Martinez, nicknamed "The Grey Jay", is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseballwith the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Since the end of his playing career, he has been a broadcaster, working on The Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles radio and television broadcasts, and nationally for TBS...
ProfessionSportscaster
Date of Birth7 November 1948
CityRedding, CA
access adding amazing appeal baseball classic designed expand fans further giving greater growth impact job magnitude mission popularity similar
The World Baseball Classic is going to have an extraordinary impact on the sport. The magnitude of the Classic is enormous. It's designed to further expand the international appeal of baseball, and I think its mission is very similar to XM, which has done an amazing job of adding to the growth and popularity of baseball by giving fans greater access to the game.
format learned obviously
Obviously they got a wakeup call. One thing we have learned in the international format is that anything can happen.
call last
Obviously, they got a wakeup call last night.
brings character everybody felt guy opinion respect
Luis Gonzalez has the respect of everybody in baseball, and his opinion is very valued. He's always been a character guy that we respect a lot. We felt that he brings everything we want on this team.
aware catch early expect fourteen individual involved ken obvious pitchers players ready taking three
The players have been aware that they were going to be involved with this for a while now. But we're taking three catchers for a reason. You can't expect to catch this much this early without getting sore. Fourteen pitchers is another obvious thing. As for the players, we'll take things on an individual basis. For example, Ken Griffey told me he'd be ready to go.
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I expect them to be very supportive, and I think that will fuel the USA fans once they get into this atmosphere. From my understanding in Tucson, they had sombreros and their faces painted and a lot of Mexican flags. It was a bullfight-kind-of-atmosphere, so that will be beautiful in this tournament.
decision fact games given history injuries played respect year
He made his decision and we respect that, given his history of injuries from a year ago and the fact that he only played in 14 games (in 2005).
aware coming everybody fact represent states sure talent talked understood united whatever
We talked about the talent in the room, the fact that we represent the United States of America, and just making sure they understood how everybody is coming after us. . . . They're all aware of (doing) whatever it takes.
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When they got a good pitch to hit, they didn't miss it. They pitched very effectively to the heart of our order. We hit some balls hard. They made quality pitches when they had to.
baltimore bench gives impressed met pitching sitting success
He's had a lot of success pitching in international competition, and that gives him an edge. I met him in Baltimore during their first series, and sitting on the bench with him before the game, I was impressed with his composure.
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He has been through this before and he understands the importance of representing your country. I think Jason is one of the best players who's ever strapped on the catching mask. He understands the game, he loves to represent his team, whether it's the Red Sox or Team USA. I'll be very anxious to work with a guy like that.
years average people
There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.
spring unique reality
I think Barry Bonds was in a unique situation given his injuries from a year ago, the fact that he played in just 14 games. Even though I spoke to Barry in December and he was enthusiastic and excited about the possibility, I think the closer he got to the reality of spring training, and as he got himself in shape for the regular season and the San Francisco Giants, he felt like it may be too much of a challenge to try to push his body at this point in his career.
I have no hesitations to say that ... we know what the expectations are.