Tino Martinez blew up after Derek Dietrich didn’t pick up balls?

Tino Martinez resigned as hitting coach of the Miami Marlins on Sunday amid multiple reports that he was verbally and physically abusive towards the team’s players.

The strongest allegation against Martinez was that the former New York Yankees first baseman grabbed rookie second baseman Derek Dietrich by the neck. Martinez acknowledged a confrontation occurred between the two, but he said he grabbed Dietrich in the chest, not neck.

So what led to the incident?

According to the New York Post, Martinez told Dietrich to pick up the balls after a hitting session in the batting cage, and the rookie ignored the order. The Post’s Mike Puma says Martinez grabbed Dietrich around the neck to restrain him as he dismissively walked away.

Any time a story of a physical confrontation comes up, it’s important to hear both sides to understand what could have led someone to become physical. In this case, it seems like Martinez went a little too far. Not only did he get physical with Dietrich, but other players complained that Martinez tried intimidating them and verbally abused them. And then there was a report that Martinez challenged Casey Kotchman to a fight.

Getting rid of Martinez was probably way overdue.

Thanks to tipster David