Victor Martinez Should Not Get in Any Games for the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers specified batter Victor Martinez is coming from a terrible knee injuryAwhich caused him to miss the 2012 time in its entirety. The Tigers need Martinez healthier in 2010 so he is able to provideAprotectionAat the plate behind Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Martinez used toAprimarilyAbe a before signing with the Tigers in Nov. 2010, but his bata'not hisAabilityAto catcha'is the reason why he needs to be inAtheAlineup. Martinez was never great defensively and just played 26 games at catcher for the Tigers. Coming off a injury makes things even riskier because ofAthe additionalAstrain placed on a catcher's knee. The media asked Tigers manager Jim Leyland on March 23 about the possibility of Martinez getting in 2010 due to interleague play and the loss of the DH. Leyland offered a remedy, that has been rather surprising (viaAMLive.com's James Schmehl ): "If we felt like there was some real nasty, nasty left-hander and Victor was healthy enough and you felt like you were not risking anything, he might do it," he said. "And, he will want to do it, I know that." Leyland then continued on, looking more definitive aboutAMartinezApotentially catching: "I don't desire to produce a big deal about on it that since we have laid low. But, could it be a chance? Positive. Down the road, yeah," Leyland said. "Is it going to happen without a doubt? I can not answer that, but I believe it is a strong possibility." Allow usAforget Martinez's health for one minute and consider the details. Martinez's career portion at throwing out baserunners is 24 percent,AwhileAthe group average for throwing outAbaserunners is 29 per cent. Martinez's most readily useful caught-stealing percent occurred backAin 2008 (37 percent), but he was just behind the plate for 55 games. While Martinez's arm never been considered great, his over all defense is poor as well. His career selection issue average per sport is 6.65, that is less than the group average of 7.09. Those figures are why, even though MartinezAhadAnever injured his knee, it is anAunnecessaryArisk to play him behind the plate. Fans tend to forget that Alex Avila is really a solid defensive catcherAand was a Glove finalist in 2012 and 2001. The last reason why Martinez shouldn't capture any games can be found in his career batting average. Martinez, who is a.303 career hitter, includes a batting average of.299 in 835 games at catcher. When he plays first base, he's a average of.314 in 143 activities. At DH, he's a vocation average of.317 in 146 games. That is why Leyland and the Tigers should not risk Martinez's health for a few games in away interleague games. The only exception when MartinezAmight be able to perform behind the plate is if the World Series is made by the Tigers, but to be able to have there, the Tigers should keep him healthier. *All research are fromAbaseball-reference.com