"Andy's opportunity to be a big leaguer will come and it will come very soon," said Buffalo manager Torey Lovullo. "Once he gets there, my personal opinion is we have an infielder who will spend the next 10 years in Cleveland helping the Tribe win a number of games."
Dad Builds the Baseball Road
Jacobs Field is a long way from Marte's humble roots in Villa Tapia, in the Dominican Republic.
"In the Dominican it's tough," Marte remarked. "It's not easy to play baseball. It's not like here where you have everything. Over there you've got nothing. The fields are bad and we don't have baseballs for practice."
Were it not for his father, Juan, Marte might never have developed to the point where he could escape the poverty of the DR.
"My dad always did things that he couldn't do to get me everything I needed for my career," said Marte. "Sometimes he sold stuff to get me equipment so I could play baseball. He took me to a ball field to practice every day and got it in my head and my heart. That’s why I'm here and that's why I love my dad.
"Everything I do is because of him. He really made some sacrifices for me."
Impressing the New Boss
Marte's appears to be living up to expectations. Through his first 18 games, he was batting .318 with eight doubles. Should the fact he had zero home runs and only four RBI be a reason for concern?
Not to Lovullo.
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