On September 10, 2002, Victor Martinez made his Major League debut with the Cleveland Indians. Now, 16 years later, Martinez will play the final game of his career in a Detroit Tigers uniform.
Martinez revealed that his final game will be on Saturday at Comerica Park when the Tigers take on the Kansas City Royals. It will be the 1,973rd game of his career and the Tigers will honor him prior to the game. He said he wanted his final at-bat to be in front of his fans in Detroit.
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From MLive:
“It's just thanking the Detroit Tigers fans and thanking everybody here. After tomorrow, it's going to be it. That will be my last game. This is one way to thank everybody,” he said.
“I enjoyed every single moment,” he said. “I remember like yesterday when I came into the league and now I have two games to go. It goes by quick.”
Since coming to Detroit in 2011, Martinez has helped lead the team to the playoffs twice (2013 and 2014). Despite not winning a World Series, VMart has no regrets.
“We had some good teams. Unfortunately, we didn't accomplish the final goal, which was winning the championship,” he said. “I had the best year of my career here in Detroit. I'll take a lot from this city and keep it with me.
“It is what it is. When I say I'm leaving this game with no regrets, I'm going to leave the game with no regrets. I'm going to go home happy because I know I left everything. I wouldn't do anything else. I'm going to be at home sitting on that couch, saying that I left everything in this game.”
Going into Friday's game, Martinez has a career batting average of .295 with 246 home runs and 1,178 RBIs.
We wish Victor Martinez the best of luck!