Russell Martin

Martin Reaches Deal with Yankees

Russell Martin has reached an agreement with the New York Yankees to become the teams starting catcher next year.

The catcher, 28, hit hit .248/.347/.332 in 387 plate appearances for the Dodgers. His season ended due to a hairline fracture of the right hip but should be recovered by now, according to MLB.com.

Martin's production has slipped the past two seasons. His .249 average, .350 on-base percentage and .330 slugging percentage since the start of 2009 are all considerably lower than the first three years of his career, when they were .285, .373 and .433, respectively.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays also bid for his services.  Martin is represented by Matt Colleran.

The Yankees also have another highly-touted catcher in their system, Austin Romine. They have recently been bidding for Cliff Lee but the star pitcher signed with the Phillies.

In addition to Martin, the Yankees are looking to add a lefthanded reliever to the bullpen.Pedro Feliciano, Randy Choate and J.C. Romero are among the remaining lefty relievers available on the free-agent market.

Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin Jr. (born February 15, 1983, in East York, Ontario) is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher who is a catcher for the New York Yankees.

Early life
Martin was born in East York, Ontario (in the east end of Toronto). He grew up in Chelsea, Quebec and lived in Paris, France from the age of 8-10. Martin has an African Canadian father, Russell Martin Sr., and a white, French Canadian mother, singer and actress, Suzanne Jeanson. His parents separated when he was only two years old. His father used to play saxophone in Montreal subway stations to help pay for his baseball training. Along with playing baseball in the Montreal neighborhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Martin played hockey for N.D.G Minor Hockey, where glimpses of his future all-star athleticism could be seen. He graduated from Polyvalente Édouard-Montpetit High School, which was the same high school attended by former teammate Éric Gagné. After graduating from high school, Martin took a junior college scholarship at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.

Playing career
Los Angeles Dodgers
Minor leagues
In 2002, Martin was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round. Martin was originally a third baseman before switching to catcher after a scout saw him playing for the Gulf Coast Dodgers in Rookie Ball and thought he showed more promise in that position. Martin was a Florida State League All-Star catcher while with the Vero Beach Dodgers in 2004 and Baseball America 2nd Team Minor League All-Star and Southern League All-Star while with the Jacksonville Suns in 2004.

Major leagues
On May 5, 2006, Martin was called up to the Dodgers after a wrist injury landed the starting catcher Dioner Navarro on the disabled list.[4] He got two hits (including a double) in the game. His first hit was against Chris Capuano. On May 7, he hit his first major league home run against Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Dave Bush. On June 6, 2006, Martin and Éric Gagné made baseball history by becoming the first French Canadian battery in the majors. Martin's play was good enough that, on June 26, 2006, Navarro was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. On August 13, 2006, Martin hit his first career walk-off home run in a victory that completed a sweep of the rival San Francisco Giants. On September 18, 2006, Martin hit a solo home run off of Trevor Hoffman, the third of four consecutive home runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the San Diego Padres, it was the first time four home runs have been hit in a row since the 1964 Minnesota Twins.

On April 21, 2007, Martin hit a walk-off grand slam against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Shawn Chacon in the bottom of the 10th inning. This was the first grand slam of his career.
In May 2007, Martin broke the Dodgers' franchise record for single-season steals by a catcher (12) set by John Roseboro in 1962.[10] On July 1 it was announced that Martin finished in first place in All-Star Game voting, leading Paul Lo Duca by 296,948 votes. He became the first ever Canadian born catcher to start the All-Star Game.
At the end of the 2007 season, he was awarded with the National League Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger award.
On May 2, 2008, Martin started his first game at third base since reaching the Majors, allowing veteran backup Gary Bennett to spell Martin behind the plate. Martin made his second all-star game during the 2008 season. He caught 10 innings of a 15 inning game in which the American League won 4 to 3. Martin's 10 innings caught are tied for fourth place all time among all star catchers in a single game.
On January 20, 2009, Martin signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract to avoid salary arbitration. The deal was the largest ever awarded to a catcher in his first year of arbitration. He played for the Canadian team during the 2009 World Baseball Classic and then rejoined the Dodgers. He slumped offensively in 2009, hitting only .250 with 7 home runs in 143 games, the weakest totals in his four year career.
In 2010, Martin's numbers continued to regress as he hit .248 with 5 home runs and 26 RBI in 97 games. In August, Martin suffered a torn labrum in his right hip when he was trying to avoid a tag at home plate in a game against the Padres. The injury kept him sidelined for the rest of the season.
Due to his uncertain recovery from injury and declining production, the Dodgers did not tender Martin a contract for 2011 and allowed him to become a Free Agent.

New York Yankees
Martin reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Yankees, pending his successful completion of a physical.

Personal life
Martin's full name is Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr. Russell is from his father (Russell Martin Sr.), Nathan is from his great-grandfather, Jeanson is the maiden name of his mother (Suzanne), and Coltrane is also from his dad to pay homage to John Coltrane.
Martin changed the name printed on his jersey to "J. Martin" for the 2009 season in reference to one of his middle names "Jeanson", in honor of his mother.
In an effort to quit the use of smokeless tobacco, Martin began wearing a custom-fitted mouthpiece during the 2009 World Baseball Classic and Spring Training.