Buck Martinez praises Brett Bateman’s baseball IQ ‘he anticipates the play very well’
Photo credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Sep 9, 2026, 12:32 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays recently paid tribute to an icon who spent more than four decades around the organization.
On Saturday August 29, the Blue Jays opened the Hall of Excellence and inducted their 12th member, Buck Martinez.
Martinez spent more than four decades with Toronto, a tenure that included being a player, manager and broadcaster, rightfully earning a place in the new Hall of Excellence alongside George Bell, Dave Stieb, Joe Carter, Cito Gaston, Tony Fernandez, Pat Gillick, Tom Cheek, Paul Beeston, Carlos Delgado, Roy Halladay, and José Bautista.
On Tuesday, Martinez joined the Off The Roster podcast with Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn and Dan Riccio to discuss what the induction meant to him, what he thinks of newly acquired Brett Bateman, and what the return of Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber could mean for the Blue Jays down the stretch.
“It was pretty special. When you do something for as long as I have, you kind of have the tendency to forget about some of these moments, but there was a time I sat down after everything was over and just remembered all the great people I’ve met over the years,” Martinez said. “It was a great celebration to see so many former teammates like Paul Beeston and Pat Gillick, two huge personalities in franchise history. It was an awesome time, and to have my wife Arlene, my son, and family with me, it was a pretty special weekend for sure.”
On August 2, the Blue Jays traded away fan-favourite pitcher Kevin Gausman. What felt like a heartbreaking move at the time has been eased by the play of Brett Bateman, who was one of the players brought back in the trade.
Through his first 27 MLB games, Bateman is batting .330 with seven RBIs and three steals while reaching base at a .398 clip. The 24-year-old has been slotted into the Blue Jays’ everyday centre fielder and leadoff role, and has brought a jolt of energy to the lineup.
“He’s the first leadoff hitter the Blue Jays have had in a while. You go back to Shannon Stewart and Tony Fernandez, they were both great leadoff hitters,” Martinez said. “Bateman understands what he needs to do at the top of the order. He takes his walks, he anticipates the play very well, and he’s a very instinctive base runner.”
Sitting at 73-73 and 1.0 game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the American League’s final Wild Card spot with 16 games left to play. With a rotation that currently consists of only three true starters due to injuries, the club has been piecing it together as they try and return to the postseason for the second straight year.
Currently on the injured list, both Yesavage and Bieber have resumed throwing as they try to push for a late-season return. While neither may return as starters due to the limited time to build up, either would boost Toronto’s pitching staff no matter the role they take on.
“For Yesavage, he didn’t have much experience last year and he was outstanding all the way through the World Series. If he’s healthy and can come out and give them a solid four-inning outing, that would be a tremendous boost,” Martinez said. “If Bieber can come back, that would certainly be a shot in the arm. Both of those guys are very capable of winning games down the stretch and into the postseason.”
Sponsored by bet365
Breaking News
- Buck Martinez praises Brett Bateman’s baseball IQ ‘he anticipates the play very well’
- Blue Jays sending Jameson Taillon to visit elbow specialist
- Looking at how the Blue Jays fared in recent September stretches?
- September 8 Gameday: José Soriano gets the ball as Blue Jays look to bounce back against Athletics
- Out of town scoreboard: Orioles defeat Guardians, Blue Jays lose heartbreaker to Athletics