Retired All-Star J.D. Martinez Reveals Shocking Experience with Astros

Without a doubt, J.D. Martinez is a bonafide hitter. A World Series champion, six-time All-Star, three-time Silver Slugger with a career .283 average, 311 career home runs, and 30.8 WAR across 14 seasons, Martinez was your prototypical hitter with pop, integral to several playoff teams in the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Martinez Began MLB Debut With Astros

Unless you've been following J.D. Martinez' career to a T, one may not know he made his MLB debut with the Houston Astros in 2011. Few mention good things about his time in an Astros uniform during his first few years in the majors. Martinez might be in that same boat.

Let's take a look at the player Martinez was before he became a feared hitter. During his humble beginnings, he slowly built his career as an Astros prospect. From his 2011 rookie season up until 2013, he was seen as an afterthought. After all, it was the 2011-2013 Astros, a team six years removed from their last playoff appearance. Six year later, they were compared to an aging veteran player dumping grounds with a weak farm system and a wasted potential, desperately searching for its identity.

Involved in three straight 100+ loss regular seasons, Martinez batted pedestrian numbers, slashing .251/.300/.387 with a -1.3 WAR in Houston, hardly had any chance to grow as a young player. The team was so bad, he led the club in 2012 with just 55 RBIs in 113 games.

Breakout Year With A Different Team

J.D. Martinez, Tigers — Sep 23, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) receives congratulations from left fielder J.D. Martinez (28) after he hits a game winning RBI single. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

It took up until Martinez' fourth season in the big leagues to have a breakout year and maintain consistent success. In 2014, he batted .315 with 23 homers, a .912 OPS and a 154 OPS+ across 123 games. Unfortunately, it was not with the Astros.

Not at all. As a matter of fact, it was on the Detroit Tigers. Following his third season with the Astros, Martinez wasn't given a chance to improve on his hitting in his final year. The then 26-year-old appeared in 86 games. Newly hired general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager Bo Porter were unconvinced of his progress and released their young outfielder in the 2013 offseason. The Tigers threw a flier at him the following year and the rest is history.

Obviously this was a terrible move, given J.D.'s eventual career trajectory and accolades. Now out of the league as a player, he currently serves as a special advisor for the New York Mets. On Wednesday, a reporter asked him when was the moment in time he took a mentorship role in his playing career. Unexpectedly, he appeared candid, mentioning his uneventful experience as an Astro:

J.D. Martinez opened up about his early experience with the Astros and the veteran leadership at the time 😬

“I remember asking questions and them never answering it and them kinda blowing me off and just making my life a nightmare.”

(🎥: @SNYtv) pic.twitter.com/JMru3AL1RS
— SleeperAstros (@SleeperAstros) April 9, 2026

"When I was with the Astros, I was in a bad spot. I was an up and down guy, barely played. I would reach out to the veteran guys, and at the time it was different. Veteran guys weren't very nice. I remember asking questions and them never answering it and they kind of blew me off and just made my life a nightmare...If God ever blesses me where I'm in that position I would never treat a young guy like that. I remember how helpless that feeling was."

Dark Period For The Astros

Martinez didn't point fingers at certain players, but this was a period of time where Astros fans intentionally try to forget. The late 2000s and early 2010s described a period where the Astros were at rock bottom with no end in sight. It's not surprising to receive little to no help from teammates who didn't enjoy being on a team that consistently competed at the bottom of the league for a number of years.

That's the tradeoff when transition to a rebuild. Unable to replicate the success of the early 2000s into the late 2000s, Houston blew up the roster and reorganized personnel with a new owner in Jim Crane and replacing general manager Ed Wade with Luhnow.

If a player ended up playing for the Astros during the early 2010s, it was likely during the worst part of the franchise in recent memory. Growing pains are frequent. Martinez may have been right about his experience with the early 2010s Astros, a team suffering a depleted culture and disastrous identity crisis.

Shaped Who The Current Astros Are Today

Fortunately, it eventually shaped the Astros culture on who they are today: Ten playoff appearances since 2015, including seven straight ALCS appearances, and two World Series rings. Young players can easily look up to Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa or Yordan Alvarez. Talk about refining a culture and identity. Who knows, maybe Martinez would have won more rings in his career had he stayed in Houston.