J.D. Martinez expects to bounce back: 'I really wasn't prepared for last year'
J.D. Martinez accepts full responsibility for his 2020 struggles after one of the worst seasons of his MLB career.
"It was obviously a rough two months. ... I felt like I really wasn't prepared for last year," the Boston Red Sox designated hitter said Tuesday, according to WEEI. He added: "It was my fault. I take accountability for that because I didn't stay ready. ... This year I said to myself, 'They're not getting me again.'"
The usually productive Martinez hit a meager .213/.291/.389 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 54 games for the last-place Red Sox during the shortened 2020 campaign. The 33-year-old hit a combined .317/.392/.593 with 79 homers and 235 RBIs for Boston in the two seasons prior.
Martinez's poor numbers sparked questions about his reliance on in-game video, which MLB banned last season following the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. Martinez previously credited in-game video analysis for helping him turn around his career.
"To take our game back 30 years, I think you're not doing it justice," Martinez said of the ban last March. "I think you're just trying to do yourself a PR stunt … It's a joke. It's gotten so ridiculous."
Though players will have access to a modified form of in-game video in 2021, Martinez has his own plan to prevent any repetition of last year's failures.
"Staying ready, staying prepared for the whole season like I usually do," he said.