BIOGRAPHY
J.D. Martinez was born August 21, 1987, in Miami, Florida. He is an outfielder and designated hitter in the MLB.
Martinez was selected by the Astros in the 20th round with the 611th pick in the 2009 amateur draft from Nova Southeastern University (NSU). He is a three-time selection for the MLB All-Star Game and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner, as well as the only player to earn the latter honor twice in the same season. On September 4, 2017, Martinez became the 18th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game, doing so versus the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Martinez finished the 2018 season with 43 home runs and a career-high 130 RBIs, which led MLB. He led the Red Sox in home runs, RBIs, and hits. In Game 1 of the ALDS, Martinez hit a three-run home run in the first inning off of New York starter J. A. Happ; Boston would win the game 5–4. In Game 5 of the ALCS, Martinez hit a solo home run off of Houston starter Justin Verlander; Boston won the game, 4–1, and clinched a berth in the World Series. In Game 5 of the World Series, Martinez hit a home run in the seventh inning to increase the Red Sox lead to 4–1. The Red Sox went on to win the game, capturing their ninth World Series title.
On October 26, Martinez was announced as the American League recipient of the annual Hank Aaron Award. He also became the first player to win two Silver Slugger Awards in the same season: one as an outfielder and one as a designated hitter.
Martinez returned in 2021 as Boston's primary designated hitter, starting the season batting 13-for-30 (.433) in Boston's first seven games. On April 11, Martinez recorded his third career game with three home runs, driving in four runs in a 14–9 win over the Baltimore Orioles. He became the fifth player in history to hit three home runs in one game for three different teams after Johnny Mize, Dave Kingman, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira. He also became the second player in the modern era to record 12 extra-base hits in the first eight games of the regular season, the first being Dante Bichette in 1994. Martinez was subsequently named AL Player of the Week for the week of April 5–11. On July 4, he was named to the American League roster for the MLB All-Star Game.
In the month of May 2022, Martinez led MLB with a .406 batting average, and also produced a 1.071 OPS. At the end of the month, his .360 average for the season was also leading MLB. In July, he was named as a reserved DH for the 2022 All-Star Game. On July 12, 2022, J.D. Martinez was named as the roster replacement for the MLB All-Star Game for Yordan Alvarez due to injury.