Russell Martin says he's not a guy who tends to look back much, preferring a forward focus.
But it's impossible for Martin to forget the summer and fall of 2015 -- the year the Toronto Blue Jays returned to the playoffs after a 22-year drought and a time when the country fell back in love with its lone Major League Baseball team.
The Montreal-raised Martin, who announced his retirement this past weekend, signed with the Blue Jays prior to the '15 season and was part of the wild ride.
“I do remember seeing a lot of Blue Jays T-shirts and hats. Everywhere you went that summer, everybody was repping the Blue Jays," Martin, 39, told JD Bunkis and Ailish Forfar on The FAN Morning Show on Monday. "It wasn’t just Toronto, it was everywhere in Canada. As soon as you put on the Blue Jays uniform, you realize it’s just crazy. It’s not just one city, the whole country gets on board. Whether youre going to play Minnesota or going … to Seattle, people just migrate and it almost feels like you’re playing a home game in road cities. It’s just nuts."
Never was it more nuts than the winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers at Rogers Centre.
In the top of the seventh, Martin's throw to reliever Aaron Sanchez hits Shin Soo Choo's bat and didn't make it back to the pitcher, allowing Rougned Odor to score the go-ahead run. The bizarre play had the Blue Jays and the fans fuming, but it turned out to be the right call.
"It would have been a shame to have one of those unlucky plays end up costing you the game because it’s not really baseball," Martin said. "I can throw the ball back to the pitcher with my eyes closed kind of thing. But it’s in the rulebook so the run scores from third base and they take the lead.
"I’m thinking ‘No way. The first time this ever happens to me has to be in a playoff game, one of the most important games of my career and this is going to end up costing us the game maybe.’ And then pandemonium happens and people start throwing beer cans because they’re frustrated. It seems like the whole stadium felt the way I felt, which wasn’t very good at the time."
It turned out to be a footnote, though, thanks to Jose Bautista's bat-flip home run in the bottom of that inning.
"For me, Jose saved my butt there," Martin recalled.
After a 14-year career including four all-star selections, Martin has settled into family life (he has two daughters with another child on the way), has taken up golf and has unveiled his Cruise Hard Seltzer.
Jays fans might recall former manager John Gibbons stepping aside in his final game in the 2018 season to allow Martin to manage.
Would Martin consider doing that again full-time?
“I wish I knew. At the moment I don’t necessarily think I’m heading in that direction," he said. "But in a couple years, who knows? I'm definitely busy just being a dad at home. I enjoy having the freedom to spend some time with them and I just know being a manager you spend more time at the baseball field as a manager than you do as a player.
"If the pandemic didn’t happen, that probably would have been the natural progression because I probably wouldn’t have played golf. Golf is there to kind of help I guess tame those competitive juices."
