Russell Nathan Coltrane Jeanson Martin most likely has delivered his last rally-killing groundout for the Dodgers. I wish him well wherever he lands, but not TOO well if he ends up in the Bronx (which explains the "not too" part of the post title).
It's been obvious for some time that Martin had no future with the Dodgers. Although he was my favorite player for a brief period during the Kent-Gonzalez era when the pickings were slim, I haven't been too upset about his pending departure. Sure, he was once the face of the franchise, and I'm sad that his abilities declined so swiftly. But, hey, he gets paid disgusting amounts of money to perform. And he sure didn't do dat the last two years.
What I am sad about is he will no longer appear in a Dodger uniform on baseball cards.
Martin had an amazing ability to produce a fantastic-looking baseball card. I'm not sure why that is. I think his all-out hustle, especially in the field, had something to do with it. In 2008, he appeared on these three baseball cards:
The last one is my favorite. I called it the Card of the Year for 2008. I still think it's one of the best cards I've seen over the last few years.
I think his ability to make a great baseball card may be his best talent of all. Through the brief five years of his time with the Dodgers, I have been the recipient of many great Martin cards -- most sent to me by generous collectors.
This is what I will miss most when Martin becomes a Yankee or Red Sox or whatever inferior team ends up with the shell of his former all-star self:
There are many, many more.
No, I will not be trading these away now that he won't be playing with L.A.
Instead, I'll hold on to these cards and the memories of the most cardogenic player since I started this blog.
Comments
And now you get to add Rod Barajas and Dioner Navarro to the collection.
Sick. Sick. Sick.