Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Russell Martin withdraws from team Canada

Major League Baseball Update/ News

The Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Russell Martin will not be available for his national baseball team in the coming World Baseball Classic.

Martin’s national team, the Team Canada, will not have the services of 30-year old Major League veteran due to the extensive pressure of being everyday catcher in Pirates roster.

“They both were uneasy about that and I simply didn’t want to catch,” Martin said. “It’s just too much grind. The catcher’s out there the whole game, and it just takes your body so long to recover from catching 20 innings or so … I feel sorry for (Team Canada), but sometimes you just have to look out for what’s best for you. You have to make a personal choice. But I’m really sorry for how all this went down.”

He added, “I’m not going to have fun if I’m going to go into the environment of going to compete and learning 6-7 new pitchers that I’ve never caught before then expect them to trust me going into a game and then go and compete, That’s not fun.”

Martin, a former Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees’ best man behind the plate, has recently signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates to a two-year $17 million contract.

“No matter what your stats are at the end of the year, that’s not going to define how you feel during the year,” Martin said. “It’s the interactions you have throughout the year. It’s the relationships you build in the clubhouse. That’s what’s going to decide whether you have fun or not. That played a big part in my decision.”

In Martin’s absence, Joey Votto has added into Canada’s roster. Baseball Canada later also confirmed with an official release.

“During Canada’s training camp, Votto will remain in Spring Training with the Reds where he will continue to be monitored by team staff. Votto and the Reds will make a decision with regards to his participation in the tournament prior to Canada’s first game.” (Baseball Canada)

Experts say that the team Canada certainly is in pain after hearing about their premier player’s decision.

“If I’m going to catch and beat myself up, I’m going to do it here where I’m doing it with the guys that I’m going to compete with for the next six months,” Martin said.

Playing for the Yankees, the three-time All Star and a Gold Glove award winner, Martin achieved consistent number in the last particular Major League season.

Martin finished the season on a high note achieving .211 hitting average along with 21 home runs, 53 RBIs and .311 OBP. He is also carrying a good career batting average of .260 along with 93 home runs, 418 RBIs and .352 OBP.

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Posted by Umair Hassan on Feb 25 2013. Filed under Latest News, Sports, USA, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.