Russell Martin’s professional record is amongst the best in Canadian major league history. He ranks first in dWAR (16.5), third in WAR (38.8) and fourth in games (1,693). He is fifth in runs (803), sixth in hits (1,416), doubles (255) and total bases (2,262) and seventh in home runs (191). The catcher also holds Canadian major league postseason records in games played (58), hits (38) and runs (24), making him an exceptional addition to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Russell Martin was born in 1983 in East York, Ontario. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos while attending high school but turned down their offer in favour of higher education. His performance for Team Canada at the 2000 IBAF World Junior Baseball Championship won him a scholarship at Chipola College in Tallahassee, Florida, where he played collegiate ball for two seasons. Upon graduation he was drafted again, now by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He worked his way through the Dodgers’ minor league system, where he cemented his specialty as a catcher and was twice named a league All-Star. This early period also saw Martin compete in a tournament which qualified the Canadian National Team for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Martin made his major league debut on May 5th, 2006, and shortly afterwards became the Dodgers’ number one catcher. He was featured in the 2006 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, and the following year played his first of many All-Star Games. 2007 also saw Martin win the Gold Glove Award, the Silver Slugger Award, and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s own Tip O’Neill Award. The catcher played for Canada once more in 2009, when he competed in the World Baseball Classic.
Martin then signed with the New York Yankees for the 2011 season, and with his new team won the American League East pennant two years in a row. Up next was a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, during which time Martin won two Wilson Defensive Player of the Year awards and helped his team win the National League Wild Card game of 2013.
Martin’s next move was to sign a five-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. A key member of the team, Martin helped the Jays break their infamous postseason dry spell, and they competed in the American League Championship Series of 2015 and 2016. Martin also coached for Team Canada at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
In 2019, Martin was traded back to his first MLB team, the Dodgers, for what ultimately became his final year of professional play. Martin is now officially retired.
See the Artifacts
Russell Martin wore this pair of Nike Air cleats during his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2006.
This Tucci Lumber bat broke when Martin hit a foul ball pitched by Nick Goody during the Jays’ May 25th, 2016 game against the New York Yankees.
Russell Martin wore these batting gloves in Game 3 of the 2019 National League Division Series. Martin hit a home run, a double and had four RBIs, breaking two Canadian records in the process. Martin now holds the Canadian postseason records for runs (24) and total bases (64).
