Tino Martinez Resigns as Marlins Hitting Coach Due to Alleged 'Abuse'
Former New York Yankees great, Tino Martinez, resigned as the Miami Marlins hitting coach after allegations of misconduct and abuse became public.
''I want to apologize to the Marlins organization for my behavior,'' Martinez said in a public statement. ''I have made some comments to certain players at certain times that I thought was more constructive criticism. Obviously, they didn't feel that way, and it kind of backfired on me.''
The former Major League 1st basemen was in his first season as a hitting coach, and admitted he had grabbed a player in anger, rookie Derek Dietrich, who is now back in the minor leagues.
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''It has been building for a few days,'' he said. ''I didn't know this was going to come out publicly. When this came out, I thought it was the right thing to do.''
According to Yahoo! Sports, Martinez was willing to resign earlier in the season, but management wanted him to stay. However, this weekend, the issue came to light in the Miami Herald on Sunday.
''I just thought with some young players you needed to be a little firmer and try to get them on the right track,'' he said in a statement. ''I probably used some four-letter words. I thought I was doing the right thing. Obviously, I wasn't.''
Marlins first year manager and long time Marlins player, Mike Redmond, expressed his disappointment with how the whole situation played out.
''Coaching's tough,'' Redmond said. ''Going from a player to a coach is hard, and part of the grind is learning how to deal with different situations with different players and different personalities. All that stuff is a challenge. Some people can do it, and some people can't.''
''I don't know long term how it's going to affect me,'' he said. ''Right now I'm disappointed in myself. I'm embarrassed. Right now I'm not worried about the future. I just want to make sure my family is OK," Martinez said, reports Yahoo!
