clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Our top 5 favorite J.D. Martinez moments

This is why we’ll miss J.D. so much

MLB: Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

By now we all know that J.D. Martinez was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday evening. As we say goodbye to the one-time All-Star outfielder, we’ve put together some of our favorite memories from Martinez’s Tigers career.

No. 5:

Starting off our list is Martinez’s second postseason home run — I couldn’t find video of the first. This dinger came in game two of the 2014 American League Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

No. 4:

See, not every Martinez highlight is offensive in nature. Just most of them. This home run-robbing catch came in July of 2015 against the Orioles and was a bit of revenge against long-time Tigers killer Chris Davis.

No. 3:

On May 16 of this year, Martinez hit his first — and currently only — career grand slam. It came in the seventh inning against the Orioles and put the Tigers ahead 8-7 in a game that Baltimore once led by seven runs.

No. 2:

Martinez is responsible for the second-longest home run in Comerica Park history, hit on July 21, 2015. In the park’s nearly 18 seasons, the only player to hit a longer home run is Miguel Cabrera ... probably. There were some disagreements about the actual distance of Martinez’s bomb — Cabrera’s homer a year later was ruled 461 feet — but officially Martinez’s is shorter.

And of course, the unanimous No. 1:

No one can forget Aug. 3, 2016, when Martinez pinch hit as his first at-bat off the disabled list and crushed the first pitch he saw — from Chris Sale, no less — into the bushes in left-center field.

Thanks for these memories, J.D., and all the others too.