J.D. Martinez rips MLB’s proposal to ban in-game video
"To me it’s overkill. The message has been sent."
J.D. Martinez wants to change Major League Baseball – just not by banning in-game video.
After MLB proposed banning players’ access to video during games (a move the union opposed, saying it should be available without catchers’ signs being visible), J.D. Martinez told Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci (and players’ association heads) that the idea was “ridiculous.”
“To take our game back 30 years, I think you’re not doing it justice,” Martinez told Sports Illustrated. “I think you’re just trying to do yourself a PR stunt … It’s a joke. It’s gotten so ridiculous.”
Martinez said that in-game video allowed him to make instant changes when the Astros released him in spring training in 2014 in order to develop into the player he is today. And while he understands why the ban was proposed, he disagrees with it entirely.
“To me it’s overkill,” he said. “The message has been sent. People are losing jobs. It’s like the steroid thing. You do that and there’s a punishment. Steroids are still out there. Do they use them? Some do, but they’re prepared to take the risk. So here it is: You want to risk it, there you go.”
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