"To live and catch in L.A."

A cool article/profile on rookie catcher (and Canadian) Russell Martin in the Montreal Gazette: “To live and catch in L.A.”

LOS ANGELES - The rookie catcher from Chelsea by way of Paris, Montreal West and Ville LaSalle, is sitting in the dugout talking to a visitor from home when the opposing team’s shortstop, an established veteran, stops for a brief word.

“Great game last night,” shortstop Orlando Cabrera told Russell Martin, who had three hits in a 16-3 dismantling of the Los Angeles Angels by the Los Angeles Dodgers the previous evening.

“Thanks, man,” Martin said. And then the wide-eyed kid’s eyes grow a little wider.

“I was an Expos fan, definitely. I remember watching him play, and now I’m playing against him,” Martin said. “I’d be at the Big O, in the stands watching, thinking: ‘I want to play against those guys one day.’ And here I am. It’s surreal, a little bit.”…

And check out what vet catcher Sandy Alomar Jr had to say about Martin:

“He’s doing everything right,” Alomar added. “He’s a very hungry young ballplayer, and primarily I have to say he’s a very exciting player. It’s very difficult to find a catcher who is an exciting player, because usually they’re slow. But he is a five-tool catcher like Pudge Rodriguez. And he can make a game exciting like Ichiro (Suzuki). He’s fun to watch.”