J.D. Martinez will play professional pickleball after he decides to retire from baseball
JD Martinez will play pickleball when he decides to hang it up in baseball. The slugger hit .235 last season and is currently a free agent. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It turns out, that hitting wizard sure plays a mean pickleball.
J.D. Martinez, the former Met and current free agent, isn't officially retired, but he seems to have his post-baseball life ready to go, having signed a deal with a pickleball equipment company with the intention of going pro once he leaves baseball.
The Maryland-based JOOLA company sells pickleball and table tennis equipment, and announced the deal on Monday.
“I see pickleball as a sport I’ll be involved in for the long run and JOOLA’s commitment to the sport and my personal growth in the game makes this partnership even more special,” Martinez said in a statement on the company’s website.
Martinez, who served as the Mets' DH last year and has spent his prolific 14-year career known as something of a hitting savant, is 37 and saw an offensive decline last season, slashing .235/.320/.406. Despite the below-average production, he was a clubhouse leader and one of the major voices in the midseason team meeting that often was credited with turning the Mets around.
Martinez jointly announced the decision on his Instagram page, where he's described as an “emerging pro;" he's working with professional pickleball player Eric White, according to the statement.
“In our short time working together I can already see he loves the game of pickleball and is willing to learn better pickleball habits because of that enthusiasm and willingness to change he truly has no ceiling," White said in the statement.
Despite the backup plan, Martinez is still seeking an MLB contract for this season. His most recent Instagram post has him in an indoor batting cage with the caption, “and now back to our regularly scheduled programming,” with former teammate Francisco Lindor cheekily replying, “I thought you were doing pickleball?”
However, the six-time All Star’s obsession appears to be very real, and he even built a court in his own home, according to the JOOLA statement.
Pickleball, which was invented in 1965, has gained widespread popularity in recent years and was named the fastest growing sport in the U.S. from 2021 to 2023, per the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Major League Pickleball was started in 2019, with investors in LeBron James and Drew Brees, and has attracted tennis talent such as Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, who will look to defend their Pickleball Slam title later this month in Las Vegas against Andy Roddick and 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard.
The sport is fast paced, and boasts elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton, and can be played in singles or doubles. The smaller court makes it accessible, and it's grown in popularity among more elderly athletes . . . and Taylor Swift, who played the sport while brandishing a Kansas City football team pickleball racket in a promo video for her newest album last April.
“What I love is how people of all ages can play and compete on an equal level — it's all about skill," Martinez said in the statement. “Every time I step onto the court to play, I feel like I uncover another layer of the game, and it keeps drawing me in. The competition aspect is what keeps me hooked!”
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
