Shorebird of the Week – May 29, 2008

This week's Shorebird of the Week was dressed in gold last Friday - a generous fan paid for the shirt of his back, along with shirts of Anthony's teammates.Anthony Martinez awaiting a play in a ballgame last month. This year he's alternated between playing first and serving as the designated hitter.

This week’s SotW is getting plenty of playing time, but a lot of it comes on the bench. Anthony Martinez has alternated with fellow first baseman Joe Mahoney between that spot and being the designated hitter for most of the Shorebirds’ games thus far. He’s also earned a spot as a fan favorite for his friendly attitude.

While his numbers aren’t the highest on the team, Anthony also suffers from one of the strangest splits you’ll see in a player. His batting numbers at home are absolutely miserable – a .136 average, just 11 hits in 81 at bats – but 3 of his 4 home runs have come at the friendly confines of Perdue Stadium. On the other hand, put Anthony on the road and his numbers are outstanding – he’s 23 for 70, or a .329 average. It all combines for a .225 average, 4 homers, 14 RBI, and a .636 OPS.

Hopefully when it all averages out at the end of the season, “A-Mart” will put up numbers more like those he posted at Aberdeen last season, where he hit .296 with 4 homers and 50 RBI in 65 games, or his 2006 numbers in Bluefield (.304/1/19 in 47 games). The 23 year old Virginia native was picked 11th by the Orioles in the 2006 draft, so good things were expected of him. His first full season has proven to be a test, but the bat’s woken up again a little bit of late (naturally, since the Shorebirds are on the road) and we’ll see if he can finish the first half strong. Being a pretty large guy (listed at 6′-3″ and 240) strong is something he can probably manage.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.