It began in the second inning as soon as Bob Sheppard’s voice came across the public address system: “The designated hitter, No. 21, Tino Martinez, No. 21.”
Tino Martinez returned home last night and it didn’t matter that No. 21 wasn’t wearing pinstripes anymore. When the Cardinals’ DH was announced at Yankee Stadium, 55,214 stood and roared, reaching a crescendo in a tribute to six years and four championships.
“It was more than I expected,” Martinez said.
Especially since he never expected it at all. When he signed his three-year, $21 million contract with St. Louis after 2001, he never imagined he’d be able to add to his Bronx trove of memories.
“I figured I’d never play at Yankee Stadium again unless it was the World Series,” he said. “So interleague play worked to my benefit.”
Yankee fans would say the same thing. Indeed, while Martinez’s replacement, Jason Giambi, is the more productive player, there always will be a soft spot in The Bronx for the 35-year-old Martinez. He’ll be remembered for his grand slam in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series and his two-run homer in Game 4 of the 2001 Fall Classic as much as for his class and competitive drive.
So it was no surprise that fans last night held signs that read: “TINO, NY MISSES YOU” and “WELCOME HOME, TINO!” Or that when he batted, there were chants of “TI-NO! TI-NO!”
When Martinez, who was DH’ing because of a strained right hamstring that’s still not 100 percent, batted in the second, he responded to the cheers with a small wave. Then he got back in the box and struck out against Roger Clemens.
Martinez finished 0-for-3 with an RBI, but his performance was merely a footnote anyway.
“I’m thrilled,” he said of being back. “I was excited about it when the offseason schedule came out and I saw we were coming here.”
Not that coming here was easy. For one thing, Martinez said, laughing, “I wasn’t exactly sure where the door [to the visitors’ clubhouse] was at.”
Martinez expected to grab dinner with some of his former teammates tonight – “probably the only two I know,” he joked, referring to good friends Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada – and insists that he still follows his former team. Indeed, this is a man who harbors no ill will toward the Yankees for essentially choosing Giambi over him.
“Baseball’s a business and they went the way they wanted to go,” Martinez said. “I understood that. I don’t have any bitter feelings.”
Nope. Only great memories. He got another one last night.
