Dodgers: Taking a Look Back at Russell Martin’s Last Game in LA

The Dodgers will once again write Russell Martin’s name on their lineup card in 2019.  The last time Martin donned a Dodger uniform was 2010 and plenty has changed since then.

Being a Dodger fan has sure been weird the past couple of years.  Last season the Dodgers welcomed Matt Kemp back and now the Dodgers are welcoming Russell Martin back in 2019.  The last time Martin donned a Dodger uniform was 2010.  If anything this should be a lesson to never throw away your old Dodger gear when a player signs elsewhere or is traded.

2010 was a struggle year for the Dodgers and a lot has changed since.  The Dodgers finished in fourth place in the NL West in 2010 with a 80-82 record.  The McCourts were going through a divorce and the quality of the team they put out on the field definitely suffered.  The very last game that Martin played with the Dodgers game back on August 3, 2010.  Taking a look at the lineup the Dodgers put out.

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After this game the Dodgers placed Russell on the disabled list with a labral tear in his hip and then he signed with the Yankees that off-season.  The lineup that day saw Ted Lilly start and it ended with a 2-1 win that saw Jonathan Broxton close the game out.  The only similar feature that the 2010 team had to this year’s Dodger team is they had an underrated bearded third baseman in Casey Blake like the Dodgers have now with Justin Turner.

The 2010 team also relied on a core of homegrown Dodgers in Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Andre Ethier the way that the current core has Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, and others.  Outside of that the 2010 squad  lacked talent playing Scott Podsednik, Ryan Theriot, and Jamey Carroll.  Garret Anderson also played eighty games with the 2010 team and hit below .200.

Luckily for Russell and Dodger fans, the 2019 team will field a much better lineup and a team with championship expectations.  After losing two straight World Series the Dodgers are looking for any way they can improve to get over that last hurdle.  Martin will not be counted on like he was in 2010 but he is now a veteran leader who will help make sure the Dodgers have good defense behind the plate in 2019.