Martinez named to NL All-Star staff: 'It's pretty exciting'

WASHINGTON -- Manager Dave Martinez is heading to the 2022 All-Star Game.

Braves manager Brian Snitker asked Martinez to join the National League coaching staff for the celebratory game, scheduled for July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“We go way back,” Martinez said of Snitker on Monday. “He’s a good man. I’m honored to be a part of his staff.”

This season will mark Martinez’s fourth All-Star coaching experience. He was on the staff for the game played at Nationals Park in 2018 as manager of the Nationals. Prior to that, he participated in ‘09 and ‘17 as a member of the Rays and Cubs staffs, respectively.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Martinez said. “You’re amongst the best of the best of the game. It’s definitely an honor to be there and see all these unbelievable players and get to mingle and pick people’s brains. For me, it’s a great experience.”

Martinez, though, did not get to fulfill the honor of managing the NL All-Star team after winning the 2019 World Series. The ‘20 All-Star Weekend was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It would have been really nice to manage an All-Star Game,” Martinez said. “But I think it was more for the fans and more so for my coaching staff. When we didn’t get a chance to do it, I was more upset about my coaching staff, who put a lot of work in … that they didn’t get the opportunity to go and do what they obviously deserved.

“It was a big year for us. You win in ‘19, and you expect all these different things in ‘20. We didn’t get that. But as I always tell them, I said, ‘Hey, one year it will be our turn together. So we’ll get back there and we’ll get to enjoy it one day.’”

Martinez had planned to spend the All-Star break in Florida or at his farm in Tennessee. Instead, he will enjoy spending time with his friends around the game and taking in the showcase of talent from a different perspective.

“I’m going to have fun, there’s no doubt about it,” Martinez said. “You get to spend time with a bunch of different guys -- guys that I’ve had here, guys that I’ve coached, coaches that I’ve known for many, many years -- and we get to get together for a few days and just have fun with the game, watch some of these superstars do their thing. I love the Home Run Derby. For me to go there and sit and just be a fan and watch these guys just hit the ball as far as they can, it’s pretty exciting. I’m going to do it with a big smile on my face.”