For the last 4 years we have been hearing about Fernando “F-Mart” Martinez. The 16 year old was praised as the future of the New York Mets. F-Mart was the 5 tool player that the Mets were going to make into their next superstar. There were growing pains of course, the last couple of seasons F-Mart was injured. Some were wondering if F-Mart would live up to his expectations.
The 2009 Mets as we all know are walking M*A*S*H unit. The Mets on May 26, 2009, decided to call up Fernando Martinez from Triple A Buffalo when they put Ryan Church and Jose Reyes on the disabled list. This was not considered a permanent promotion. The Mets needed someone in the outfield and they wanted to see how F-Mart could perform at the major league level.
It was a bumpy ride for F-Mart’s first major league assignment. In his first game he went 0-3, 2K’s, was hit by a pitch but he did drive in an RBI. There was of course that pop up fly ball that was dropped and Fernando Martinez didn’t run it out and as a result he was thrown out at first on a play in which he should have been safe and the Mets would have had a runner on base.
F-Mart showed some potential but it was obvious that he needed some more seasoning in the minor leagues. He hit only .207 and he could not recognize breaking balls. The Mets last week made the right decision and sent him down to Buffalo. It was the right move as he would play everyday and now the Mets could give the Bisons’ manger and coaches a detailed account on what they wanted them to work on with F-Mart.
Fast forward to Monday, June 23, 2009, Carlos Beltran joins the other 8 players who are on the Mets disabled list with a bone bruise. The Mets have no choice but to recall F-Mart. This time it’s not a test for F-Mart, it’s not an assignment just to get a look at the progress F-Mart has made and to evaluate the potential as a major leaguer he has. Carlos Beltran is out for at least 2 weeks, sounds like it could be longer and F-Mart is going to need to produce.
F-Mart is young, he has potential and it looks like he needs to start utilizing some of that potential for this Mets team that is having a difficult time staying healthy. He is going to have to grow up faster than most would like. Situations like this show the make-up of a ball player. He knows the expectations the fans, the organization, and the media have for him. F-Mart can either sit in a corner and just try to perform or he could show us that the Mets were right in not trading him and billing him as a superstar of the future by taking advantage of the injuries and performing the way we know he can.
