Signing with Boston a full-circle moment for Martin

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- At some point, new Red Sox reliever Chris Martin will take it back to the ranch -- literally.

“I’m a rancher in the offseason,” said Martin. “I have cattle and I have a ranch with deer and stuff like that. That’s kind of consumed me. I go work out early and then I go take care of the animals and do all that stuff. I used to like to golf a lot but [the ranch and baseball] kind of took my time.

“Obviously baseball is my first passion and I really enjoy it, but I also know that I can’t do it forever. I went ahead and found a second thing and went ahead and started it, a smooth transition for later on down the road.”

Make no mistake about it though. At the age of 36, the righty setup man, who should be one of Boston’s most important relievers this season, isn’t close to giving up the game he loves for full-time duty at his Texas ranch.

The late-blooming righty, one of the best strike throwers in the game, is having too much fun making up for lost time to want to do anything else. The path Martin took to at last reach success in baseball was at times demoralizing, but ultimately worthwhile.

He was selected by the Tigers in the 18th round of the 2004 Draft out of high school and declined his first chance to go pro, instead going to McClennan Community College in Waco, Texas. A year later, the Rockies took Martin in the 21st round. Again, Martin turned down the opportunity and went back to McClennan with visions of pitching for a major college by his junior year.

Instead, disaster struck when Martin tore his right labrum during his sophomore year at McClennan. He couldn’t even make an independent league team after his recovery from surgery. Baseball was practically in the past tense for Martin, who gave up his dream and worked at UPS, Lowe’s and several other places.

In 2010, the independently-affiliated Texas AirHogs of Grand Prairie gave him a shot to return to the game. Martin got in 13 appearances that season. After that, it was the Red Sox -- yes, the Red Sox -- who at last gave him the chance to go pro.

Martin impressed scouts at a pro tryout, and Boston signed him to a Minor League deal. He would pitch for Red Sox affiliates from 2011-13, advancing all the way to Triple-A before getting traded to the Rockies a week before Christmas.

During that first stint in Boston’s farm system, Martin made an impression on Paul Abbott, a long-time Minor League instructor with the Red Sox who is now the pitching coach for Triple-A Worcester.

“He was a signing out of tryout camp, and Anthony Ranaudo and Brandon Workman were throwing [side sessions] at the same time,” Abbott said. “Two high-prized prospects and Chris Martin. You couldn’t tell which one was the first rounder. He looked great back then. It was shocking he had to go through that route to get signed because it was obvious he was talented.”

What a thrill it was for Martin when he recently arrived to Spring Training and one of the first people he bumped into was Abbott.

“I remember not too long into it, he was telling me, ‘Oh, you’re going to be a big league pitcher’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, right.’ I was just happy to be playing baseball again,” Martin said. “I guess he was right. I talk about him a lot, just giving young guys a lot of confidence and building them up.”

After getting his first taste of the Majors with the Rockies (2014) and Yankees (’15), Martin started to build momentum in ’19 with Texas. He also had successful stints with the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers before coming full circle with the Red Sox on a two-year, $17.5 million contract in the offseason.

As far as manager Alex Cora is concerned, it’s about time.

“I remember in ’19, he pitched against us. He was with the Rangers right around the [Trade Deadline],” said Cora. “And that was on the wish list from my end. Santa didn't show up that day. But he was really good.

“He’s just a strike throwing machine. And we were talking about it yesterday, his story, his road to get here back to the Red Sox, independent baseball, UPS, all that stuff, and he's pitching for us now.”

The trying nature of Martin’s journey is something he is now at peace with.

“A lot of that was self-induced, the way I had to go about getting here. But I think it made me better,” said Martin. “The story is what it is but I was a young kid not making the best choices and you look back on things and I could have done things different but everybody has a certain path. I put all that stuff in the past and am moving forward.”