By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Given the choice between getting a head start on the off-season or spending time at the ballpark, Ben Martin chose the latter.
Less than three hours before first pitch Saturday at Innovative Field, Martin took his spot behind a protective screen at first base. He served as a target for infielders taking ground balls and making throws across the diamond while the rest of the Iowa Cubs went through batting practice.
Helping players develop their games, that’s what the former Churchville-Chili Saint has been doing for the past four years.
“I was in town already, and with the team coming in it made sense to come hang out and help them out with whatever they needed,” Martin said. “I’m lucky enough to be in a job that I really enjoy. I would rather be doing it than just relaxing and doing nothing.”
Last week was going to be a homecoming one way or the other for Martin who played his Senior Exceptional Game at what was then called Frontier Field. He later worked on the grounds crew of the Rochester Red Wings while he was in college.
As recently as January, Martin was pegged to be the hitting coaching of the Cubs Triple-A affiliate. Then he received a call from Jared Banner, the organization’s Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Development.
From that conversation, Martin accepted the role as the Cubs Dominican Republic Field Coordinator.
“One month later, I was down there doing that.”
Located in Boca Chica – 35-40 miles east of the nation’s capital, Santo Domingo, Martin set up shop at the Cubs DR Academy. Under his watch, he had two teams with rosters of 35 apiece.
“The players are generally 17 to 19 years old. They live at the academy full time whenever it is open.”
And the experience is round the clock.
“They typically wake up around 6:30 (a.m.) for breakfast. Practice will generally start at 7:45 (a.m.). Games follow from there at 11 (a.m.).”
After that is a session with video review.
“It’s a full day, six days a week. Doing what we can to get those guys ready for the next level.”
Martin’s role is to make sure plans are in place on a daily basis to assure the development of each player.
Along with supervising players, he has to facilitate two coaching staffs. There are daily meetings from 7:15 to 7:30 a.m.
Teams play a 60-game schedule starting in early June and ending in late August. Each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams has at least one team in Dominican Summer League.
“It’s similar to Rookie-League ball that you will see in Arizona or Florida.”
Most players in the DR academies, though, sign a contract soon after their 16th birthday.
They are also preparing for the chance to compete, in what would be for them, a foreign country. Nightly English class from 5 to 7:30 p.m. is also part of the program.
“It’s not like in the States where you go all the way through high school before you have a chance to play professional baseball. You’re starting that timeline a lot sooner. There are some more aspects of the education that we try to bring together.”
Martin, who was to have a position where he would be one step from the big leagues, understands his role with helping to build the foundation of the Cubs’ farm system.
“The group of players you’re dealing with (in the Dominican), haven’t had as much coaching. The better and more impactful a coach is, the more you can get out of them working with those younger players.”
Martin’s coaching career started in what was supposed to be his final year playing at St. John Fisher. A wrist injury sidelined him for the season. Originally an Exercise Science major at SUNY Brockport, Martin transferred to Fisher where he enrolled as a Statistics major.
Proud Rochester Moment 🥹
Ben Martin…
🔺a Rochester native
🔺former @rocredwings Grounds Crew Member
🔺 and St. John Fisher University Alum…joined the @IowaCubs coaching staff last week to face off against the team he grew up loving.
Martin is the @Cubs Dominican Republic… pic.twitter.com/9iytfjstQ1
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) September 23, 2024
“I was still playing in college and following all the trends. I was always keeping up with the use of analytics. I had an understanding of it. It was when I transferred in college that I saw the application of statistics and how it could be used in baseball and player development. That spurred my interest.”
Martin worked with Fisher head coach Brandon Potter to collect data and help with game plans.
“I was always good at math. It was always one of my favorite subjects. It wasn’t until I saw how applicable it could be to baseball that I thought I might actually want to use this beyond the classroom.”
At the same time, he found a job posting online with the Cubs. He completed the application with the thought that a role as baseball operations or video coordinator was in his near future.
Instead he was offered a spot as an assistant with the Cubs Low-A affiliate, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He’s been with the organization since then.
“I always thought that if I wasn’t going to be playing, I’d want to be coaching,” Martin said. “The path in getting here I never could have thought or imagined.”
For now, Martin is focused on his future with the Cubs.
“I’m lucky to be in that position where given the choice between more work and no work, I would choose to spend more time doing the job.
“It’s awesome. I’m thankful to have this position and be with a great organization and be in a role where I think I can have some impact.”
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