Russell in French: A Childhood Story and His Workout
The French language media in Quebec is in Dunedin and as one might imagine, there are a ton of Russell Martin stories. I consider it a sort of duty to translate some of these stories for anglophone Jays fans.
Another day, another Russell interview in French.
Here he talks about an incident when he was a kid playing baseball in Quebec.
James Mansell, his coach with les Lynx de Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, remembers:
«Le père de Russell m’avait demandé d’être un peu plus dur avec son fils qu’envers les autres jeunes. Il voulait que son enfant soit discipliné, développe une bonne éthique de travail et qu’il devienne un leader. Parfois, le message passe mieux quand il provient d’une voix différente.»
Russell's dad asked me to be a little harder on his kid versus the other kids. He wanted his kid to be disciplined, to develop a good work ethic and to become a leader. Sometimes the message is better coming from a different source.
Mansell goes on.
«Au début de l’été, il y avait quelques joueurs dans l’équipe qui étaient souvent en retard, plus particulièrement Donald. Ce n’était pas le cas de Russell, qui arrivait au terrain tôt le matin, vers 7 h, quand l’entraînement était prévu à 8 h. Mais un jour, j’ai décidé que les retards n’étaient plus tolérés.»
"At the start of the summer, there were a few players on the team that were always late, especially this kid named Donald. It wasn't the case with Russell. He'd arrive early in the morning, at 7 when practice started at 8. But one day, I decided that lateness wasn't going to be tolerated anymore."
They asked Russell about Donald.
«Oui, je me souviens très bien de Donald», a convenu Martin, en éclatant de rire.
"Yeah, I definitely remember Donald," said Martin, laughing.
«Pour chaque minute de retard, Russell a dû courir une minute, a repris Mansell, lui-même un ancien joueur de haut niveau. J’ai demandé aux autres jeunes de s’asseoir sur le banc et de le regarder. Évidemment, Russell trouvait que c’était injuste. Mais à partir de l’entraînement suivant, les jeunes n’arrivaient plus en retard.»
"For every minute late, Russell had to run for that amount of minutes. I told the other kids to sit on the bench and watch him. Obviously, Russell thought it was unfair. But after that, nobody else was late."
«Je ne sais pas si Russell a eu besoin de parler ou si son air fâché a été suffisant, mais tout le monde a compris le message», s’est félicité Mansell.
I don't know if Russell had to say something to him or if him being pissed off was enough, but everybody got the message.
Russell remember this vividly.
«Je me souviens que Donald était vraiment mal à l'aise quand c'est arrivé. Et quand je suis fâché, je suis vraiment fâché, a reconnu le receveur, sourire en coin. Mais dans tout ça, James a été bon pour moi. Disons que lorsque j’étais plus jeune, j’avais besoin de me faire remettre à ma place. J’étais un peu arrogant dans ce temps-là.»
I remember that Donald felt really bad about it when it happened. And when I'm angry, I'm really angry. But James was good for me. When I was younger, I needed to be put in my place. I was a little arrogant back then.
Making the kids responsible and accountable to each other? And making sure no one gets too big for their britches? That's kind of genius, skip.
Here is another video of Russell Martin, down in Florida,in what I assume is his place. (It's very white. I'd be worried about spilling.)
He doesn't say anything particularly ground breaking, but you can just listen to him Quebécois his face off. Mostly he's excited about spring training, to take up what they did last year and also get to know the new guys.
He mostly talks about his workout in the article underneath the video.
«J’ai toujours été capable de bien écouter mon corps et c’est la recette gagnante»
"I have always been good at listening to my body and that's the winning formula."
«En vieillissant, c’est sûr qu’il faut faire des ajustements. Je ne me pousse pas autant physiquement que je le faisais auparavant, mais j’essaie toujours de rester en excellente forme».
"As one gets older, it's good to make adjustments. I don't push myself as much physically as I used to, but I try to stay in excellent shape."
The article also says Martin started swimming as part of his routine, because it's easier on his body.