Cape League Spotlight: Harold Martinez

July 14, 2009

By Nicole Auerbach
Cape Cod Times

Once you get past his quiet exterior, you’ll find that Brewster third baseman Harold Martinez has an interesting tale to tell. His family defied the odds to come to the United States, giving him a chance to shine on the baseball diamond. Now, after 16 years spent in Miami, Martinez has left his comfort zone to come the Cape. He’s armed with a special bat and the insight from an MLB star’s hitting coach, and he’s ready to take on the Cape League pitchers.

You played in the Florida Legends summer baseball league during your high school years. How does the Cape League compare to other summer leagues?

It’s cool. It’s especially a lot of fun for a summer league — most summer leagues are boring. We have a good time here, so it’s not bad at all.

How are you handling the adjustment to wooden bats?

Wooden bats don’t help you as much as aluminum bats. My teammates and I are starting to get used to them. I used wooden bats in summer leagues in high school, but never against this kind of pitching.

Looking back at this spring, you just completed your first collegiate season at the University of Miami. How was that experience?

I love college baseball and Miami. Our team lost to the University of Florida in the NCAA Regionals. I’ve learned that every time we don’t make it to Omaha (for the College World Series), it’s a disappointing year, but I think we still had a pretty good season record-wise. (Miami finished with a 38-22 record.) Personally, I played first base a little bit at the beginning of the year and then I stayed at third. I thought I did overall pretty well for a freshman. You always want to do better, but I don’t think I had a bad year. (Martinez batted .270 with nine home runs and 47 RBI this spring.)

I read an article in the Palm Beach Post about you being born in Cuba and your journey to the U.S. What’s the interesting story about that?

My dad swam from (a beach in Jatibonico, Cuba) to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay to get out of Cuba when I was 1. When he got to the U.S., he worked for two years to claim my mom and me, so we could come to America. It wasn’t as bad there (with travel restrictions) then as it is now.

After getting to the U.S., when did you start playing baseball?

I started throwing a ball around when I was 3. My dad and I would practice every day until I was 6, when I was old enough to play in a league.

You were a highly touted prospect in high school. (Baseball America and Perfect Game USA both ranked Martinez as the No. 5 best high school prospect in 2007.) What was that like? Did you feel a lot of pressure?

Recruiting wasn’t difficult because I always knew I wanted to go to the University of Miami. Once Miami wanted me, I knew where I was going to go. There were a lot of professional guys after me, too, and I got drafted by the Texas Rangers (19th round, 2008 MLB draft).

Was it a tough decision to go to school instead of signing a professional contract?

Yeah, it was definitely tough. I took the whole summer to think about it, and I ended up going to school because I think I’ll become a better player this way.

What was the draft experience like?

The (Rangers) called before they drafted me, and then I saw the results on a computer. It’s definitely cool being drafted. Not a lot of people are, so I’m proud of it. Hopefully, in three years, I’ll do a little better. (Martinez will be draft-eligible again in the 2011 MLB draft after three seasons of college eligibility.)

I heard that you’ve talked to New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez recently. What’s the story behind that?,p>I’ve met him. I’ve been compared to him a lot, and I finally met him one day at the University of Miami in the gym. We talked for a little bit, and it was very cool. (Rodriguez, though he didn’t attend Miami, has close ties to the school and city. The university’s baseball field was named Alex Rodriguez Park this spring.)

Did A-Rod give you any tips when you two talked?

He just said keep working hard. Right now, I hit and train with the guy he hits and trains with. Eddie Rodriguez is my hitting coach, and he raised A-Rod as a hitting coach, too. We’re connected in that way.

Is it true you are swinging an old A-Rod bat these days?

Yeah. It’s one of his old ones when he was real young. But he didn’t personally give it to me — it came from my coach.

I have heard a lot of comparisons made between you and A-Rod based on your swing and stature. Do you compare yourself to him?

I look a lot like him body-wise, as a player. (Martinez is 6-foot-3, 200 pounds.) We play the same position, too (third base). Hopefully, one day I’ll play like A-Rod.