Q. What memories do you have from your time in Atlanta?
A. This is where I was drafted. I got my first call-up, a lot of memories of that. When I first got drafted, it was like, 'Oh, Atlanta.' This is the team I grew up watching with Florida. Buy a house, live there, it's just going to be great. Obviously, it doesn't happen like that. (I) still know a few people over there and fans were always great to me while I was here.
Last October, Miami Marlins catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was at the top. He was the starting catcher for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox. A few months later, he was the starting catcher for the Miami Marlins, the worst team in the National League.
“There’s no better feeling” than winning the World Series, Saltalamacchia said. “It’s that excitement. That’s one thing that will make this team go to the next level, just having that little taste of winning.”
Saltalamacchia broke in with the Braves in 2007 and played 47 games behind Brian McCann before being sent to Texas as part of a trade-deadline deal that brought Mark Teixeira to Atlanta. His Braves’ stint was long enough to show some pop in his bat and gain a fan following that was crestfallen over his trade.
He never found his stride with Texas and in 2010 was sent down to Triple-A to rehab a back and shoulder injury, and then began to have trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher. He was traded to Boston later that year.
In the following three seasons, he started 302 games at catcher for the Red Sox. He banged 25 home runs in 2012 in 405 at-bats. In 2013, he hit .273 batting average with 40 doubles. His batting average was his best since he hit .284 with the Braves as a rookie. The season culminated with the World Series title, although he was benched in favor for David Ross, another former Braves backup catcher, for the final three games.
“I enjoyed every bit of it,” he said. “I still got to play in two of the games, and it was an experience in its own.”
When Saltamacchia became a free agent after the season, the Red Sox reportedly did not make much of an offer to keep him. Miami landed him with a three-year, $21 million contract and the chance to catch for a young staff anchored by 2013 rookie of the year Jose Fernandez. Saltalamacchia also returned home, having grown up in Royal Palm Beach, about an hour north of Miami.
“I had a lot of reasons, obviously being from Florida, being closer to my family, but (the) pitching staff here is pretty amazing,” he said.
Saltalamacchia, who was in town with the Marlins earlier this week, said he expected to receive his World Series ring when Miami traveled to New York for its weekend series against the Mets. A rookie phenom no longer, Saltalamacchia turns 29 on May 2.
“I take a lot from over there (in Boston) coming over here and being with a lot of new young guys who are trying to establish themselves that are really great players,” he said.
