Tino Martinez Accused Of Abusing Players, Resigns As Hitting Coach

Tino Martinez Accused Of Abusing Players, Resigns As Hitting Coach

Tino Martinez resigned as Miami Marlins hitting coach amidst report of verbal and physical abuse to players. This was his first job as coach on the professional level.

Rookie second baseman Derek Dietrch notified the team about an incident from several months ago. Martinez erupted and grabbed him by his neck and neck chain. The MLB Player’s Association, the union, and the Commissioner’s officer have all been notified.

Unfortunately, Dietrich is not the only one who felt Martinez’s wrath. From The Miami Herald:

One Marlins player, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said Martinez has been verbally abusive to players on a number of occasions since the start of spring training in February. A few players have complained to Redmond about Martinez’s behavior.

“It’s all shocked everybody,” the player said. “He uses intimidation. It’s been a problem since day one.”

According to sources who have witnessed Martinez’s profanity-laced eruptions, other players who have been attacked verbally by Martinez include outfielder Justin Ruggiano, infielder Chris Valaika and minor-league infielder Matt Downs. Another source said the list of players is much larger than that.

Martinez is known for having a bad temper and was involved in two infamous brawls in baseball. He had a history with Baltimore Orioles’ closer Armando Benitez. When Benitez hit him with a pitch once, Martinez escalated the incident into a 10-minute fight between the teams. Another one was the St. Louis Cardinals/Arizona Diamondbacks Easter Brawl in 2003. Pitcher Miguel Batista hit Martinez and the benches cleared.

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