Tigers’ J.D. Martinez will return on Friday

He’s back!

Following an injury to Jim Adduci’s right oblique, it was announced Thursday that J.D. Martinez will make his long-awaited Tigers’ season debut on Friday against the Angels.

This wasn’t J.D. Martinez’s first trip to the disabled list. The Tigers know all too well what it’s like to be without their beloved right fielder, and starting the 2017 season without in in the lineup has been a tough blow for the team. Fortunately, players like Adduci himself have filled the void quite admirably.

So fans have watched with a great deal of anticipation as Martinez progressed through his healing, and then onto the minor leagues for his rehab assignment. All the while the Tigers have waited with thinly veiled giddiness for his return.

Finally that wait ends. The opening chords of Rick Ross’s “Everyday I’m Hustlin” will play, and J.D. Martinez will once again step up to the plate. He’ll shake off the dust of missing the first six weeks of the season, and he will swing.

I think we all remember what happened the last time he came back from the disabled list. As if anyone could forget this perfect moment in Tigers’ history.

Welcome back, J.D. We’ve missed you.