Tino Martinez Resigns. Another Late Call

Tino Martinez resigned as hitting coach of the Miami Marlins on Sunday following his admission that he was verbally, and physically abusive with players.

Tino Martinez

"I was frustrated at times, the way players were behaving and, certain ways they were doing things. When I asked them to do something and they wouldn’t do it, whatever it may be, I thought the way to get through was by being firm with them, and I probably used some four-letter words.”

Martinez' apology is to blame the players for making him verbally abuse to them. In addition to the verbal abuse, there was physical abuse. Martinez admitted grabbing second baseman Derek Dietrich by the front of his jersey in early May. Dietrich says, by jersey, Martinez means neck. According to the Miami Herald, Martinez also became excessively angry with outfielder Justin Ruggiano, first baseman Casey Kotchman, infielder Chris Valaika and minor-league infielder Matt Downs, among others.

Derek Dietrich

And according to one player, who understandably didn't want his name used, "it’s been a problem since Day One.” Day one was spring training, back in February.

And why would anyone want to come forward? Even though Martinez had no prior experience coaching at any level, he was hand-picked by the team's owner, who, by the way, rejected Martinez first resignation attempt just two days ago. Players complained to the manager, but nothing was ever done. Remember, the Marlins never disciplined Martinez, he disciplined himself by resigning.

Even if people within the organization were reluctant to speak out against the owner's handed picked boy, at least one person should have felt like they had cover just as the season started. On April 3, 2013, two games into the 2013 season, as the Marlins were

Mike Rice

preparing to get shutout by the Washington Nationals, ESPN aired video of Rutgers University head basketball coach Mike Rice, talking to his players like he was trying to win an insult contest, and roughing them up like a pimp does a sex worker. The video shows Rice whipping a basketball at a player's head, kicking a player and using a homophobic slur directed at a player. The public was shocked and the university reacted by firing Rice.

And yet, not one of the victims of Martinez' abuse came forward, and Martinez never changed his behavior. The rookie Dietrich must have decided this was abuse worth taking as long as he was in the show. When he was no longer there, he became a victim. Just days after Dietrich was sent back to the minors, Dietrich told his agent, who ADDED his voice to those who had already complained about Martinez to the Marlins.

Martinez

Manager Mike Redmond must have known about the abuse. Hell, he must have witnessed it on several occasions. If this were a McDonald's the phrase hostile work environment would have used on someones write-up. This whole sad situation is another example of people looking the other way when it comes to certain athletes or coaches. This kind of abuse was probably more likely in an NFL camp. That's why Martinez hollering would have/did instantly shock people, who in turn must have wondered why Marlins management was doing nothing to stop it. Its not like it was working. The Marlins are last in the majors at scoring runs with a 3.16 run per game average. At one point, they didn't score a run for 37 innings. That's equal to 4 games! The Marlins could have fired Martinez for lack of performance, or abusing players instead THEY did nothing.