Recent allegations of player abuse have forced Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez to resign from his position according to CBS Sports. Martinez issued a statement saying:
“I want to apologize to the Marlins organization for my behavior. I have made some comments to certain players at certain times that I thought was more constructive criticism. Obviously, they didn’t feel that way, and it kind of backfired on me.”
Rookie Derek Dietrich is among the players that claim that Martinez is both physically and verbally abusive. This comes as a shock as Martinez spent 16 seasons with the Yankees and Mariners, and there was never any indication from coaches or teammates that he ever exhibited any abusive behavior.
Martinez gave further explanation saying:
“I just thought with some young players you needed to be a little firmer and try to get them on the right track, I probably used some four-letter words. I thought I was doing the right thing. Obviously, I wasn’t.
These kinds of reports probably will have a damning effect on Martinez’ chances of ever coaching again but you would think that Martinez would know better after listening to public condemnation of abuse, as in the situation at Rutgers University.