Mets J.D. Martinez opens up about overcoming personal adversity

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More From  Steve Serby  The Mets late spring free-agent addition J.D. Martinez takes a swing at some Q&A with Post columnist Steve Serby.  Q: What is the biggest adversity or obstacle you had to overcome?  A: I think its when I hurt my foot in 2017.  Q: You thought your career was over in 2017?  A: Yes.  I tore my Lisfranc. I mi sed seven weeks of the season.  It was very depre sing. It was very scary. It was my free agency year.  Q: How did you get through it?  A: Praying. Being with my family and my friends. There were days I was like, This is not getting better. There were weeks at a time when it just did not get better. I spent literally two weeks, and it hasnt moved forward and it just still feels like st. Thats what the doctor was telling me, hes like, Its not gonna get better, its one of those things where it can and it cannot. It was very scary and a very tough time for me.  J.D. Martinez signed with the Mets this past offseason.  AP  Q: What were you thinking you might do?  A: I really wasnt thinking about that. I was thinking about my Lisfranc and getting heathy.  Q: Was that a worst moment emotionally than being released by the Astros in March 2014?  A: Obviously when I got released, that was a huge obstacle  [but] no. Cause I knew what I had done and I knew the change I had made. It was funny cause [Mets GM] David Stearns was in the office when I got released  he was [then-Astros GM] Jeff Luhnows a sistant. The one thing he always said when I talked to him about it, he goes, Yeah, I just remember how confident you were when you left that room. And I was like, Thats when I felt the most confident.  Q: Why was that?  A: Cause I had made my swing change, so I already knew what I got.  Q: The criticism that bothered you the most or you felt was unfair?  A: I think it was that COVID year. The northeast media, man, theyre tough, and theyre just relentle s, and they just expect such a high performance every day. I remember coming off 18 and 19 and literally being at the top of the list for every category offensively, and then 20 comes in, the damn doctors telling me that Im not allowed to hit BP, Im not allowed to freakin lift weights, Im not allowed to do anything because Im scared Im gonna die of COVID cause I have bad asthma. So I go out there, they take my video away from me, I dont have anything to look at. I spent the last two months sitting at home not being able to do anything, just doing little in-home workouts. And had a bad year in a year that nobody even thought we were gonna play baseball, and the media in Boston just absolutely destroyed me, told me they need to trade me, that Im terrible, Im Brian Robinson Jr. Jersey  washed up, and this and that, and it was just nonstop. That was probably the most unfair thing that happened.  Q: Signing with the Mets in the New York market didnt give you any pause?  A: I can handle it, theyre already saying Im old anyways, you know? It plays for me. If I suck, Oh Im old. If I do good, its Oh, but hes old. So I dont even sweat it.  Q: What does Mothers Day mean to you?  A: To me it means nothing. To her it means everything (laugh).  Q: Describe your mom.  A: My moms a hard-working woman. She raised three of us working a 9-to-5, and still had time to come home and cook and clean and made sure we lived in a good home.  Q: Did she help you with your asthma growing up?  A: Yeah, she was always like in charge of all my medical side of stuff. Shes a nurse.  Q: Is that something you still have to manage now?  A: Yeah.  J.D. Martinez swings during the Mets-Rays game on May 4, 2024.  AP  Q: How do you do that?  A: My inhalers.  Q: Thats another thing you had to overcome, right? Youre like Mr. Overcomer.  A: Dude, I had freakin meningitis when I was 3, tested positive for TB when I was like 2 or 3 or something. Ive been through the wire.  Q: As a kid how did the asthma affect you?  A: When I was a kid playing ball, it was tough just cause we had to constantly just go in and out of the emergency room. Playing Little League and stuff like that Id have asthma attacks. As kids got older, we just understood how to handle it more, and then everything was great after that.  Q: Do you still have a chip on your shoulder that you brought into this league?  A: Yeah, sometimes you know? I feel like the older you get, you start to kind of like lose it a bit, but sometimes it pops up every now and then. I felt like the way the offseason went and the way free agency went it was kinda one of those things too  just add to the story.  Q: Can anything be done about catchers interference?  A: I mean, you gotta come up a little bit  get em further back.  Q: Is that realistic for Major League Baseball?  A: Major League Baseballs trying to tell the teams, but the teams trying to steal strikes.  Q: You texted Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, who has surgery on his fractured forearm, and you wished him the best.  A: Obviously apologized. He was like, Nah, its nobody fault. He told me to sign his cast the next time he sees me (laugh).  Q: How did the nickname Just Dingers begin?  A: I dont know, someone in Arizona started that (laugh).  Q: I also think the following apply for J.D.: Just Driven  Just Determined . .. Just Defiant.  A: I like those, those are nice.  Q: Which one applies most?  A: I think theyre all pretty good.  Willson Contreras reacts after getting hit by J.D. Martinezs swing during the Mets-Cardinals game on May 7, 2024.  Getty Images  Q: Who had the prettiest swings youve ever seen?  A: Righties or lefties?  Q: Whatever you like.  A: I mean, everyones gonna go to [Ken] Griffey [Jr.], obviously. Everyones gonna go to these guys, I think theyre swagger swings, great-looking swings. To me, Ive always liked Miguel Cabreras  Manny Ramirez. I think those two had like the best swings. I used to study righties. Its weird, righties cant do what lefties do, its just weird.  Q: How pretty now is your swing?  A: Right now at this moment? It aint very pretty, Ill tell you that (laugh). It gets pretty, but its one of those things where just a lot of grinding and I gotta line up a lot of things and then itll get pretty. Obviously Im gonna be harder on my swing than anyone elses.  Q: Its a curse being a perfectionist, isnt it?  A: It is.  Q: Describe your mentality in the batters box.  A: Whats the word Im looking for here? When youre just locked in on your goal and what youre trying to do. Some word for that.  Q: Laser focused?  A: Yeah, I would say focused.  J.D. Martinez opened up about personal adversity with The Posts Steve Serby.  USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con  Q: In general, how would you describe your baseball mentality?  A: Im just trying to get the job done, you know? Trying to find a way to survive that day and get it done and thrive  hungry.  Q: From your Instagram: When backed into a corner, one has two options: he can lie down and die, or he can fight regardle s of the odds.  A: I think we [Diamondbacks] were trailing in the [2017 NLDS against the Dodgers] 2-0 and were about to get swept.  Q: It can actually apply to your baseball life and story.  A: Yeah, its what my dad always taught me. Any obstacles  Tommy Hunter Jersey