The weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers did not pan out for the Pittsburgh Pirates faithful, but they nonetheless used the games at PNC Park to show their appreciation for David Freese and Russell Martin.
Freese was in the lineup in the series opener and stepped to the plate in the first inning with the Pirates playing his old walk-up song. As fans cheered, a thank you message was shown on the scoreboard.
Freese went on to hit a grand slam and later said he had added energy from hearing “Stinkfist” by Tool. Martin’s turn in the spotlight came Saturday with a tribute video played.
The veteran catcher didn’t have the same dramatic result to his first at-bat but finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and was happy to reflect on his time with the Pirates, via Adam Berry of MLB.com:
“It’s great. I love this city,” Martin said. “Only good memories, you know what I mean? The big memories are definitely the big moments toward the end of the year when all the games were meaningful, and ’13 was probably the most special since it had been so long since the organization had a playoff game. Then obviously hitting two home runs in that game was pretty special. That Cueto moment, I’ll never forget that.
“The second year, people having signs at the end of the year, like, ‘Sign Russ!’ and chanting for me, that was unbelievable, man. I remember being in the clubhouse and getting teared up, having a feeling like it was my last game with the guys that I went to battle with for two years straight. It was pretty tough when we lost that Wild Card game the second year.”
Martin spent just two seasons with the Pirates (2013 and 2014), but his home run off Johnny Cueto in the 2013 National League Wild Card Game is etched in franchise lore. It was Pittsburgh’s first time in the postseason since 1992 and Martin’s blast held up in their 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
Although fans clamored for Martin’s return, he went on to sign a five-year, $82 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he remained until being traded to the Dodgers this past offseason.
The weekend series marked the first time Martin returned to PNC Park since his time with the Pirates.
