New slugger J.D. Martinez barely knew any of his Diamondbacks teammates when he joined them in Cincinnati last week following a trade from the Detroit Tigers. But there was one person who helped ease the transition – assistant hitting coach Tim Laker.
“He was there during my hitting changes,” Martinez said, “so there’s definitely a comfort zone with him being here.”
Those changes, of course, are the ones Martinez made prior to his breakout 2014 season with the Tigers, when he rebuilt his swing and seemingly overnight turned into one of the game’s top power hitters.