After standout postseason, Marte inspired to push harder

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- It's Spring Training, where managers quickly remind everyone that statistics don't matter for veterans with a spot on the Opening Day roster locked up.

All that being said, you can't help but notice how D-backs second baseman Ketel Marte has swung the bat this spring.

Marte has hit safely in all seven games he has played this year. In Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Padres, he went 1-for-3. He's hitting .556 with a .619 on-base percentage.

But again, putting the numbers aside, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo has seen something else from Marte this spring that pleases him.

"He's been very engaged, very hungry," Lovullo said. "And I've been really impressed by that. I've watched him mature over the past seven-plus years in a very, very good way and he's taken on a lot of responsibility. I'm watching the work habits. I'm watching the energy and the focus every single afternoon. It's very impressive and I'm very grateful for that."

Marte made the NL All-Star team in 2019 when he got national attention for the first time, hitting .329 with 32 homers and 92 RBIs while moving back and forth between second base and center field. It earned him fourth place in the NL MVP voting that year.

Injury issues hampered him some over the next three seasons, but he reported to Spring Training last year with the best lateral movement he had in years and the results showed up on the field.

Marte's defense at second was outstanding, and he had a legitimate case to make the NL All-Star roster but was left off. It disappointed him, but he received some advice from D-backs legend Luis Gonzalez, who now works in the Arizona front office.

"I basically just told him you know that it happens," Gonzalez said of the All-Star snub. "I mean, unfortunately, only so many guys are allowed to go, but I told him if he stayed on track, he would have a chance to shine and be on the big stage with the team."

There's no way Gonzalez could have predicted at the time just how right he would be.

Despite being outscored on the season, the D-backs made the postseason by a single game. Things came together for them after that as they made a surprising run to the World Series.

And who led the way? Marte.

The 30-year-old extended his postseason hitting streak, which started with hitting safely in three games against the Dodgers in the 2017 NLDS, to a Major League record 20 games surpassing the 17-game streaks by Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter and Hank Bauer.

Along the way, Marte was named the MVP of the NLCS when he hit .387 with a .987 OPS in seven games against the Phillies.

"He's a very good player, period," Lovullo said. "So I want that to be my starting point when I'm making these comments. But it's almost that he can take his game to another level against the very best at the most critical moment. To do what he did with that [streak] was really amazing. That's how engaged he can be and that's how good he can be. He knew what the streak was all about. It was really fun to watch that."

Once again, Marte looks like he is in top condition this spring, the result of a winter of hard work.

"Just like always, I continue to work," he said via translator Alex Arpiza. "I don't like to just stand pat and be stagnant. If I hit 25 homers one year I want to hit 35 the next. This year, I just want to continue to get better."