Martinez back at Yankee Stadium

Martinez back at Yankee Stadium
AP Photos
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tino Martinez gave Yankees fans plenty of reasons to fall in love with him during six championship-filled seasons in New York.
There were the 44 home runs and 141 RBIs in 1997. There was the grand slam in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series against the San Diego Padres. And, of course, the tying homer with two outs in the ninth inning off Byung-Hyun Kim in the 2001 Series.
Countless goose bumps and a string of special memories.
"There were so many -- the four World Series wins, the last outs, the perfect games. That stuff doesn't happen once in so many people's career and I had it happen so many times," Martinez said.
Martinez returned to Yankee Stadium on Friday night for the first time since signing a free-agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals before last season.
Slowed by a strained right hamstring, he batted seventh and served as the designated hitter instead of playing first base.
With fans still on their feet immediately following Roger Clemens' 4,000th career strikeout in the second inning, a huge roar went up as Martinez came to the plate for the first time.
He stepped out of the batter's box and tipped his helmet to chants of "Tino! Tino!" Then he struck out on three pitches, the fifth of the night for the Rocket.
Martinez replaced fan favorite and former Yankees captain Don Mattingly at first base in 1996. It was a tough assignment, but Martinez's clutch hitting and good looks soon made him an extremely popular player as well.
A mainstay on five World Series teams, including four championships, he provided underrated defense, clutch hitting and steady leadership in the clubhouse.
"We just had a lot of guys on that team who hated to lose," Martinez said.
"I was excited in the offseason when the schedule came out and I saw we were coming here."
And what a night to come back, with Clemens, a former teammate, going for his 300th win.
"I'm fired up about it," Martinez said. "Obviously, I don't want him to get it tonight, but I eventually want him to get it."
Martinez, 35, hit 175 home runs for New York from 1996-2001, but the Yankees let him leave after signing Jason Giambi in December 2001.
With at least 25 homers and 105 RBIs in five of his six seasons in New York, Martinez was so consistent he was almost forgotten on a star-studded team -- but not by the fans.
A large contingent even showed up last season when he returned to New York for the first time, to play the Mets at Shea Stadium.
Most of the crowd arrived late Friday on a misty night, but Martinez still got a huge ovation when the lineups were introduced. Before the game, he admitted he would probably be nervous, and compared the baseball-crazed fans in St. Louis with those in the Bronx.
"I'd just say a little more laid back," Martinez said. "Here, if you get 15,000 fans on a Tuesday night, it's 15,000 intense fans."
Since joining the Cardinals as Mark McGwire's replacement at first base, Martinez hasn't been able to duplicate the production he enjoyed in New York.
He often struggled in his first season with St. Louis, batting .262 with 21 homers and 75 RBIs -- not the numbers the Cardinals hoped for when they signed him to a $21 million, three-year deal.
He came into Friday night with only four homers and 24 RBIs in 200 at-bats. He was hitting just .204 with runners in scoring position, puzzling for a player with six 100-RBI seasons.
Martinez came through in the fourth inning, however, hitting a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2.
He hurt his hamstring Tuesday night in Boston trying to beat out a double play. He did not play the next two games, and said he sat out Thursday night with an eye toward his return to the Bronx.
"I wanted to make sure I was 100 percent," Martinez said. "It was still a little sore."
He said he planned to have dinner with close friends Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada on Saturday night.
"Probably the only two I know," Martinez said.
Jeter said it would be awkward to play against his longtime teammate.
"He brought a lot of intensity," Jeter said. "We're friends, but I want to beat him."
Former Yankee Joe Girardi also returned to the Bronx. The Cardinals backup catcher spent four years with the Yankees, helping them win three titles.
Since leaving after the 1999 season, he's returned to Yankee Stadium to attend postseason games as a spectator and to take pictures with his two young children on the field.
"A nice night to be back," Girardi said.