When Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington signed free agent catcher Russell Martin last offseason, he did it with the intention of helping his young pitching staff. Entering play today with a record of 65-43, the Pirates currently own the best record in Major League Baseball and their 3.09 team earned run average is the best in baseball as it is way down from their 3.86 team earned run average of last season. It isn’t a coincidence that this improvement has occurred with Martin calling the shots behind the plate.
Since 2008, first as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and then as a member of the New York Yankees, the teams in which Martin was the starting catcher for finished in the top five of their respective leagues in team earned run average as Martin was dynamic behind the plate. The Pirates pitching staff also leads the National League in opponents batting average this season at .228.
Over that same stretch, the teams that Martin played for made the postseason in four of the five seasons which bodes well for the Pirates who are attempting to have their first winning season and playoff berth since 1992.
Individually, Pirate pitchers can find their names near the top of most major pitching categories in the NL. Starting pitcher Jeff Locke is fresh off of his first All-Star game appearance and he is fourth in the National League in earned run average at 2.36. After spending his entire MLB career in the American League, starting pitcher Francisco Liriano is shining in the NL as his 11 wins on the season are tied for fifth in the Senior Circuit. Huntington and the Pirates used the first overall pick of the 2011 MLB Draft on UCLA starting pitcher Gerrit Cole. Cole ascended quickly in the minors and he made his MLB debut on June 11 in an 8-2 Pirates victory over the San Francisco Giants. Cole is 5-4 with a 3.56 earned run average as Huntington and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle felt comfortable with the move to call him up from the minors as Martin is behind the plate to show the youngster the ropes.
In the past two seasons with Hurdle at the helm, the Pirates have been close to having a winning record only to stumble down the stretch. One of the reasons that they faltered was that they were missing a veteran presence such as Martin behind the plate to keep things running smooth. At the beginning of August, the Pirates have 65 victories and they are on the cusp of giving people near the Allegheny River something to talk about in October besides the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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