Dodgers News: JD Martinez Reacts to Historic Offensive Season From LA Lineup
In 2023, the Los Angeles Dodgers have had a spectacular offense. Their offense has been a big reason they won the National League West title, and clinched it so early.
Thursday at Coors Field, J.D Martinez hit a 2-run homer in the first inning. While that home run gave him an impressive 32 on the year, it also helped the Dodgers make franchise history, as he joined Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy with 100 or more RBI on the season.
Martinez understands the significance of his accomplishment.
"It’s special," Martinez said. "I’ve been on a lot of teams with really, really good offenses and I’ve never been on a team that has done that so it just speaks volumes of this team and how deep we are up and down the lineup. Guys are just always on base, that’s the biggest thing. One-through-nine you always have guys that find a way to get on base whether it’s walking, whether it’s getting a hit, but there’s always guys on base."
Martinez studies hitting. He spends many hours a day either in the batting cage or studying video. Nowadays, when baseball franchises emphasize versatility, people don’t see many professional hitters. Martinez reminds people of Edgar Martinez, a longtime DH of the Seattle Mariners who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.
While the Dodgers' Martinez missed almost two months with many lower body problems, he has had a huge offensive year. He has demonstrated an ability of both hitting for a high batting average and power. He has a .274 batting average with 32 home runs, 100 RBI, and a .901 OPS.
Martinez will play an integral role in the possible Dodgers success in the postseason.
