JUPITER, Fla. • Every time the game gave her son a reason to quit, Evelyn Martinez nudged him forward.
God had a plan for Jose Martinez, she reminded him from back home in Venezuela.
Nearly 900 games between 10 minor league teams. Three knee surgeries. That time in 2015 when he was named Pacific Coast League batting champion, and still did not get a call from a Royals team that went on to win the World Series.
“I think that was the one, exactly the one,” Jose Martinez said Saturday, when asked how close he came to walking away.