Former Met J.D. Martinez will pivot to pickleball after retirement: ‘I see pickleball as a sport I’ll be involved in for the long run’

J.D. Martinez hasn’t officially retired from baseball, but he’s already readying a post-retirement pivot to pickleball. Table tennis and pickleball instrumentality shaper JOOLA announced a sponsorship declaration Tuesday, detailing the escaped cause DH’s volition to vie successful competitory pickleball erstwhile his shot vocation comes to an end.

With JOOLA, Martinez volition person training, arsenic good arsenic backing for nonrecreational events and tournaments hosted by the slugger himself. According to the release, Martinez has started grooming with pro Eric White.

“I spot pickleball arsenic a athletics I’ll beryllium progressive successful for the agelong run,” Martinez said successful a connection connected JOOLA’s website. “And JOOLA’s committedness to the athletics and my idiosyncratic maturation successful the crippled makes this concern adjacent much special.”

This doesn’t needfully travel arsenic a astonishment considering Martinez often talked astir his emotion of pickleball and his tendency to play competitively. After the Mets were eliminated from the postseason by the Los Angeles Dodgers past fall, the 37-year-old, 14-year MLB seasoned was asked what could travel adjacent for him. Martinez answered quickly, saying “Pickleball.” He made it wide that helium would similar to proceed playing shot but was alert that the determination is somewhat retired of his control.

“If it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, I’ll spell from there,” Martinez said successful Los Angeles successful October. “It’s 1 of those things where. I’m not going to travel backmost due to the fact that I’m begging to travel back. That doesn’t marque sense. Time is the astir invaluable happening and it’s got to beryllium worthy the time.”

Martinez’s archetypal child, a daughter, was calved successful September. He spent lone a fewer days with her earlier rejoining the Mets for the extremity of the regular play and a playoff tally that saw them instrumentality the Dodgers into six games successful the NLCS. Martinez struggled astatine the sheet aft his instrumentality from paternity leave, signaling lone 3 hits implicit 45 at-bats successful 13 games successful what helium called a “streak of atrocious luck.” The Mets continued with the DH platoon of Martinez and left-handed hitter Jesse Winker successful the postseason, but Winker received the bulk of the at-bats.

Martinez finished the play hitting .235 with a .725 OPS, his second-lowest people successful a afloat play of play since 2012. Still, helium proved invaluable to the Mets successful his 1 play successful Queens, hitting 16 location runs, including immoderate cardinal homers successful the summertime to assistance the Amazin’s enactment successful the premix for a postseason position.

Twice, Martinez has signed escaped cause contracts aft the commencement of outpouring training. It was frustrating capable that helium had thoughts of retirement, but ultimately, helium signed a one-year $12 cardinal declaration with dense deferrals soon earlier Opening Day. Martinez joined the Mets successful precocious April and rapidly became a valued seasoned dependable successful the clubhouse.

A six-time All-Star and a World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox, Martinez successfully turned himself into 1 of the game’s apical hitters aft being released by the Houston Astros aboriginal successful his career. If this is the end, he’s astatine bid and acceptable to determination connected to pickleball.

“If it is, what a large twelvemonth of a large career,” Martinez said. “Nothing to clasp my caput down over.”