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Introduction to catching was painful for Blue Jays' Martin

DUNEDIN, FLA. - Few people were watching that morning as the transformation began at Dodgertown in Vero Beach.

New York Mets manager Terry Collins was there. So, too, was Eric Langill, the Mets’ bullpen coach.

Like Jays catcher Russell Martin, Langill is from Quebec. Unlike Martin — an infielder at Chipola College and his first year in the Los Angeles Dodgers system — Langill was a catcher.

“First pitch ever thrown to him as a catcher, Russell never got a glove on it,” Langill was saying Wednesday morning. “Mike Keirstead, a Canadian kid (from St. John, N.