Martinez (ankle) back in action after cleat issue rectified
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WASHINGTON -- J.D. Martinez arrived in the Mets’ clubhouse Wednesday afternoon to find a special delivery: three fresh boxes of royal blue Adidas cleats, which the company had overnighted to him. It was not the larger delivery of around 30 pairs that Martinez wanted, but it would do in a pinch.
Martinez, who goes through a pair of cleats every three or four games, blamed the left ankle injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s lineup on a pair of new shoes that he wore for the first time Monday. Because his bulk shipment from Adidas had been delayed, Martinez asked clubhouse manager Kevin Kierst to order him a new pair off Amazon. Those shoes had an extra rubber spike on the bottom, which annoyed Martinez, and weren’t molded to his foot like his usual cleats.
“I go through them quick, just because I hit, I’m constantly rotating on them,” said Martinez, a full-time DH. “The moment [the spikes] start getting small, I start slipping in the box, so I have to use a new pair once every three or four games. If not, I’ll just slip.”
A Mets clubhouse staffer used a tool to cut off the extra spike on his temporary shoe, but it still affected him.
Ultimately, Martinez said, he woke up Tuesday feeling enough ankle discomfort to knock him out of the lineup. But he was back in there Wednesday with a fresh pair of shoes.
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“Moving and hitting on a brand-new shoe, I guess it’s different,” Martinez said. “I don’t know.”
Since missing most of April due to his ramp-up period and a bout of lower back stiffness, Martinez has been consistently healthy, appearing in 47 of the Mets' past 50 games. He entered Wednesday’s play batting .278/.360/.493, playing all but one of those contests with his usual cleats.
The three boxes of shoes he received on Wednesday, at least, should hold Martinez over through the end of the first half. He hopes the larger shipment will come in after that.
“They’re backordered, apparently,” he said. “They’re being made. So we’re just patiently waiting, trying to figure it out, grind it out.”