It took a little while. But soon enough, Tino Martinez figured it out.
The visitors’ clubhouse at Yankee Stadium? It’s a few hundred feet down the hall from the home team.
“I knew I had to take a left turn, but I wasn’t exactly sure where the door was at,” Martinez said, laughing.
It was like old times again in The Bronx last night as Martinez, the popular former Yankee first baseman, returned to the Stadium for the first time since 2001.
After six seasons (1996-2001) and four titles with the Yanks, Martinez signed a three-year, $21 million deal with St. Louis. The Yankees, of course, replaced him with Jason Giambi, and Martinez figured he’d never again step foot in The House That Ruth Built.
“Last year, when I signed my three-year deal, I thought that would be it,” he said. “I figured I’d never play at Yankee Stadium again unless it was the World Series. So interleague play worked to my benefit.”
Martinez was one of the first Cards to arrive at the Stadium and, standing in front of his locker with that familiar No. 21 jersey hanging in it, he warmly greeted Yankee public relations officials and members of the New York media with hugs and handshakes.
And, of course, you couldn’t knock the smile off his face.
“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.”
Martinez hadn’t gotten the chance to see any of his former teammates yet, but he said he expected to meet up with them at some point. When asked whom he’d be hitting the town with, he laughed and replied, “Probably the only two I know,” specifying that he’d probably grab dinner with good friends Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada after today’s game.
Of course, while Martinez performed well in his six years in New York, averaging 29 homers and 115 RBIs per season, it was hard to fault the Yankees for opting for Giambi. After all, Giambi is one of the game’s most potent offensive players and at three years younger than Martinez, was thought to be more reliable. This season, the 35-year-old Martinez, battling a strained right hamstring, was hitting .265 with just four homers and 24 RBIs going into last night. He was limited to DH duty last night.
Still, many fans in New York took Martinez’ departure hard. Martinez did too – he didn’t want to leave – but insists that he harbors no ill will.
“Baseball’s a business and they went the way they wanted to go,” he said. “I understood that. I don’t have any bitter feelings.”
Martinez said he still follows the Yankees, though not as closely as he did last year when he’d typically sift through boxscores. He insists that he doesn’t root against his former team (particularly due to his friendship with Jeter and Posada) and of course, still looks back in wonder at his magical run in New York.
“We just had a lot of guys on that team who hated to lose,” he said. “A weekday game in April, we didn’t want to lose.”
When told that some believe the problem with this year’s group is that it lacks that win-at-all-costs intangible that he displayed so often, Martinez replied, “I’m obviously honored to hear that. But they’re in first place, so they’re not doing too bad. They just have to click and jell, and eventually they will.”
