Making History

Russell Martin, who joined the Pirates last winter, grabbed the headlines belting two home runs last night as the Pirates beat the Reds 6 - 2 in the National League Wild Card Game. He became the first Pittsburgh player since Bob Robertson in 1971 with a multiple-home run post-season game. (The bigger surprise is that such Pirate legends as Stargell, Bonds and Clemente never did that in playoff or World Series action.) Martin also became the first catcher with postseason home runs for three different teams -- having done so for the 2008 Dodgers and for the Yankees last year.
Yankee fans remain puzzled over why the club didn't make a stronger effort to hold onto Martin last winter. While certainly no Jorge Posada, the gap between his performance and Chris Stewart was clear.

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