Buck Martinez
Buck Martinez
John Albert "Buck" Martinez, nicknamed "The Grey Jay", is an American former professional baseball catcher and manager, and is currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseballwith the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Toronto Blue Jays. Since the end of his playing career, he has been a broadcaster, working on The Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles radio and television broadcasts, and nationally for TBS...
ProfessionSportscaster
Date of Birth7 November 1948
CityRedding, CA
beginning innings starters strength team three
The starters are just going to go three innings at the beginning of the tournament. But we think the strength of our team is the relievers.
average bit everybody expects hear mystery submitted
They are a little bit of a mystery because of the uncertainty of who they are going to bring. We hear that the roster that they have submitted has an average age of 24. That's a pretty young roster. It's kind of surprising, but everybody expects that they will have a very representative team.
access adding amazing appeal baseball classic designed expand fans further giving greater growth impact job magnitude mission popularity similar
The World Baseball Classic is going to have an extraordinary impact on the sport. The magnitude of the Classic is enormous. It's designed to further expand the international appeal of baseball, and I think its mission is very similar to XM, which has done an amazing job of adding to the growth and popularity of baseball by giving fans greater access to the game.
doubt stuff team wait
This is big stuff for our team. There's no doubt about it. I have no hesitations to say that our team is really enthusiastic and that we know what the expectations are. We can't wait to get going.
chance heat number pitching ready short tendency throw
With the number of closers on our roster, we have a chance for some pretty short innings. They have a tendency to get ready early, throw a lot of strikes, and they are used to pitching in the heat of battle.
behind conscious continue falling far perils pool run
That's the perils of pool play. You have to be conscious of not falling too far behind and having big run differentials. You have to continue to grind.
I have no hesitations to say that ... we know what the expectations are.
bit calling four higher might people represent sure
I'm sure there are some disappointed people (in Tampa). . . . But at the same time, this might just be a little bit of a higher calling every four years to come and represent your country.
years average people
There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.
spring unique reality
I think Barry Bonds was in a unique situation given his injuries from a year ago, the fact that he played in just 14 games. Even though I spoke to Barry in December and he was enthusiastic and excited about the possibility, I think the closer he got to the reality of spring training, and as he got himself in shape for the regular season and the San Francisco Giants, he felt like it may be too much of a challenge to try to push his body at this point in his career.
bunch eric guys
It's unfortunate that we can't take more than 30 because there are a bunch of guys that were committed, just like Eric Chavez.
anxious character guys proud step
That's one of the things I'm most proud of is the character of the guys on this roster. They're anxious to step up and play for their country.
angels white
It's not that much different than what the White Sox have done, what the Angels did in 2002. It's execution, it's fundamentals. They do not make any mistakes.
game joy level playing returned special
This has been such a special experience. We've all returned to the level of playing the game for joy in this thing. It's been a rebirth.