WHY CONSTANTINO WAS CONSISTENT

One of the saddest days, (Thurman Munson’s death will always be the saddest), for me as a Yankee fan took place after the 1995 season. My childhood hero, Donald Arthur Mattingly decided that the back pain was never going to get better and his family was calling him to come home. When Mattingly retired I couldn’t imagine the Yankees without him.

I couldn’t imagine how they could ever replace his Gold Glove at 1^st base and his leadership both on and off the field. The man was a true hero to me and millions of Yankee fans around the world. In fact, I loved Donnie Baseball so much I remember actually being angry thinking that the Yankees were even going to try and replace him. I already had anger toward the guy taking over first and I didn’t even know who it was going to be!

And then it happened! In a trade with the Seattle Mariners after the 1995 season, the Yankees traded Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchcock for Jeff Nelson, Jim Mecir and, of course, Constantino “Tino” Martinez. Now, this was the same Mariners team who broke my heart just months before in the 1995 ALDS. The ALDS that ended Mattingly’s career. Man I was pissed! Why him? Anyone but him! No one could replace the great Yankee Captain!

But then something happened. Tino was cool! Tino was humble! And Tino could really hit and drive in runs! You could just tell he was a special player and was going to be a very special Yankee! Tino did not make me forget about Donnie Baseball by any means, but what he did do for Mattingly fans like myself is handle the transition with grace and humility. Tino knew he was filling big shoes but he didn’t try and duplicate Mattingly, he just played hard and let his numbers do the talking. He won my respect and I was rooting for him every step of the way.

So let’s take a look at Tino’s career in pinstripes. In the seven regular seasons that Tino played for the Yankees he had… .276 AVG. / 192 HR’s / 739 RBI’s. Those RBI numbers are amazing! Think about this…Tino played 16 season in MLB, 7 of those years with the Yankees. In his 7 years with the Yankees he had 739 RBI, in his 9 non-Yankee years he had a total of 532 RBI’s. And of his 339 care home runs, 192 were hit in those 7 seasons in pinstripes, meaning in 9 non-Yankee seasons he hit 147 HR’s. Talking about making the most of your time wearing the pinstripes!!!

Now postseason. Just another Yankee player who was part of that incredible run between 1996-2001. Tino’s postseason numbers don’t jump off the page when you look at them, but they certainly aren’t numbers he should be ashamed of. Here are his numbers in 99 postseason games: 9 HR’s and 38 RBI -- with only a .233 AVG. You know, I really don’t believe that low batting average fairly reflects the clutch hits he often got. Two of those, hits/hr’s/rbi’s are two of the most memorable in recent Yankee history, both of which were in the World Series:

#2 -- Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. Tino takes Mark Langston deep for an amazing grand slam! Remember, Mark Langston was one of the toughest lefties in all of MLB. Even though it was just the first game of the World Series against the Padres, I really think Tino’s grand slam took the heart out of the Padres and it was game, set match!

#1 -- Game 4 of the 2001 World Series -- Martinez HR in the 9th sets the stage for Jeter's "Mr. November" game-winner. With two outs in the 9th inning and the Yankees trailing by two runs, Martinez came to the plate with a runner on and hit one of the most dramatic World Series home runs. The stadium was ROCKING!!!

So Tino, thank you for all you did for the Yankees and their fans. It was so great seeing you again on Old Timer’s Day. It was even btter seeing that sweet home run stroke! You belong on that field. You are a true Yankee and deserve the ovation you got. Welcome home!

Some cool facts about Tino:

• Tino was a 2x All-Star selection (1995, 1997)

• Was part of all 4 of the Yankees WS Titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000

• He won the Silver Slugger Award in 1997

• Was the 1997 Home Run Derby champion

• Was a member of the 1988 U.S. Team that won the Gold in Seoul

--Mikey Blue, BYB Senior Writer
Twitter:@MikeyBlu23



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