Despite a recent knee injury caused by a fall in the shower, catcher Russell Martin has been a solid asset for the Toronto Blue Jays this season.
He’s known not only as member of the only Canadian MLB team, but also as one of the few Canadian players in the league. Born in Toronto, Martin is a true hometown favourite. We’re looking at how Martin performs when it comes to social media today, and we’ll be using the same rating system we debuted recently with Brooke Henderson – four categories with scores out of 10.
Fan engagement score: 6/10
While Martin seems to engage with his fans pretty regularly in the real world, he could be doing a better job of showing it online.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHVtcEnAati/?taken-by=russellmartin55
That being said, he does make an effort to make sure his Canadian fanbase is feeling the love.
I work closely with @JaysCare as a #RookieLeague captain & go #BeyondTheBallpark across Canada! #TeamJaysCare pic.twitter.com/kfOR8ajQgs
— Russell Martin (@russellmartin55) July 5, 2016
Homegrown baseball hero @RussellMartin55 steps up to plate in charity game: https://t.co/qI5nuKCMLM #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/nXN2Etxn1d
— Republik Sports (@MCAagency) December 21, 2015
#Playball avec #TeamRussell @russellmartin55 #JaysCare #Jays #4Chevaliers @TVASports pic.twitter.com/gCzrFSDCGX
— Daniel Melançon (@DanMelancon) December 19, 2015
Martin doesn’t seem to want to brag about his own good deeds, so others are doing it for him.
Visual media score: 10/10
For this section, we look at how effectively an athlete is using photos and videos on their social media channels. Martin scored perfect in this section for his frequent use of videos and interesting photos.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFB4Cccqgne/?taken-by=russellmartin55
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEaD6BIKgh1/?taken-by=russellmartin55
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGpg-QiqglZ/?taken-by=russellmartin55
Popularity score: 8/10
For the popularity measure, we consider the number of followers an athlete has as well as how they are generally regarded by the online public. Martin usually receives positive messages online, but even the most beloved professional athletes can catch heat online. While Martin does have 239,000 Twitter followers, he lost a few points due to some big name teammates gaining over a million.
https://twitter.com/TrixieLeRue/status/756597687353417732
Recently, Martin has been made fun of for his tumble in the shower.
There are more @russellmartin55 @BringerOfRain20 and @JoeyBats19 than any Disney anything out there this year pic.twitter.com/uaZQaVcJnI
— shulman (@shuldawg) November 1, 2015
Overall though, he seems to have a loyal fanbase- including a few mini-Martins.
https://twitter.com/ZeMorissette/status/718580586760269825
Merci aux #Jays et à @RussellMartin55 d'avoir accordé du temps aux enfants aujourd'hui! pic.twitter.com/zINZIz4xNM
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) September 4, 2015
https://twitter.com/cassaundrasloan/status/754819550764474368
Many fans love to see the special bond that Martin shares with Jays closer Roberto Osuna. The pair are known for shutting down the ball game as well as their creative handshakes.
Product placement score: 10/10
It’s considered quite normal for sponsored athletes to advertise brands through social media channels, although sometimes it can get a little overwhelming. No fan wants to feel like their favourite athlete is bombarding them with product placement. For this measure, a high score indicates less product placement, while a low score indicates lots of product placement.
Martin achieved another perfect score in this category as it was almost impossible to find posts that were meant to push products.
.@russellmartin55's gear added, including his @RawlingsSports titanium mask: http://t.co/wWh9zDiuh8 pic.twitter.com/gT5iuUQeOA
— What Pros Wear (@WhatProsWear) August 19, 2015
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBF6pqlKgqU/?taken-by=russellmartin55
Final score: 34/40
Martin wraps up our evaluation with a score of 34 out of 40, putting him just slightly ahead of last week’s athlete Brooke Henderson. If Martin replies to a few more fan tweets and helps the Jays get to the postseason, he could be vying for a perfect social media score.
