Tino Martinez Resigns as Marlins Hitting Coach
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Victor Decolongon/Getty Images(MIAMI) — Miami Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez resigned on Sunday after reports surfaced that he had been verbally abusive towards players.
Martinez was in the first year of a three-year contract, but admitted his temper got the best of him at times.
“First of all, I want to apologize to the Marlins’ organization for my behavior,” Martinez said in a statement. “I want to state that I never physically grabbed anyone by the neck. That never happened. I have made some comments to some players at certain times that I thought was more constructive criticism on certain occasions.”
“Obviously, they didn’t feel that way, and it kind of backfired on me,” Martinez continued.
The Marlins improved to 40-63 after a win over the Pirates on Sunday, but the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that Martinez was not happy with manager Mike Redmond and the staff.
“We’ve accepted Tino Martinez’s resignation as hitting coach, postgame today,” Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said. “We will get back to you in short order on a replacement. That’s all we have.”
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