Change Up : How to Make the Great Game of Baseball Even Better

In the spirit of Moneyball, the voice of the Toronto Blue Jays offers cutting insights on baseball

Buck Martinez has been in and around professional baseball for nearly fifty years as a player, manager and broadcaster. Currently the play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Martinez has witnessed enormous change in the game he loves, as it has morphed from a grassroots pastime to big business. Not all of the change has been for the better, and today’s fans struggle to connect to their on-the-field heroes as loyalty to club and player wavers and free agency constantly changes the face of every team’s roster.

In Change Up, Martinez offers his unique insights into how Major League Baseball might reconnect with its fanbase, how the clubs might train and prepare their players for their time in “The Show,” and how players might approach the sport in a time of sagging fan interest. Martinez isn’t shy with his opinions, whether they be on pitch count, how to develop players through the minor-league system, and even if there should be a minor-league system at all. Always entertaining, ever insightful, Martinez shares brilliant insights and inside pitches about summer’s favourite game.

BUCK MARTINEZ has spent nearly fifty years in professional baseball, including twenty years as a catcher (six years as a Toronto Blue Jay), twenty-five years in broadcasting, and two as a manager. Martinez is currently the play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays on Rogers Sportsnet.

Dan Robson is Head of Features and a Senior Writer at The Athletic Canada. An award-winning journalist, he is the bestselling author of Quinn, Bower and co-author of Change Up, The Crazy Game and Killer. Robson lives in Toronto. Visit him at danrobsonstories.com