Dave Martinez continues legacy of 1986 Iowa Cubs

WASHINGTON - The 1986 Iowa Cubs just missed out on the western division title in regular-season play in the American Association, going 74-68 and finishing two games back of Reds affiliate Denver.

But many members of that squad went on to impressive careers on the field and in the dugout.
That includes pitcher Greg Maddux, who was 10-1 that season with Iowa and then made the Baseball Hall of Fame after he won 355 games in The Show.
An outfielder for Iowa in 1986 was Terry Francona, who won two World Series titles as a manager with the Boston Red Sox and took the Cleveland Indians to the Fall Classic in 2016.
Another outfielder on that Iowa club in 1986 was Dave Martinez, who was the bench coach for the Cubs under Joe Maddon when Chicago won the World Series in seven games over Francona and the Indians last season.
"I had some pretty good teachers. I learned how to play the game the right way," Martinez said of his time in the minors with the Cubs.
Now Martinez will join Francona as one of 30 managers in the majors in 2018. Martinez, who hit .289 in 83 games with Iowa in 1986, was introduced as the new manager of the Washington Nationals here at Nationals Park on Thursday, November 2.
"A dream come true," he said.
When did Martinez think about being a coach after his playing career ended in 2001 with Atlanta?
"I played for a lot of years, retired, had four beautiful children," Martinez said. "I thought I'd be a good coach, but really didn't know if I wanted to be a coach because of the travel. Joe called me up, asked me to help him out in spring training one year, and next thing you know, I became the bench coach a couple years later."
"Since that moment in 2008, my first year, we ended up going to the World Series and losing," he added. "Since then, I really had the burning sensation of being considered as a manager one day. Through process and preparation and going through all the interviews, I've learned a lot about myself and my skills, which led me here today."
Martinez said he first met Maddon in Instructional League in 1983 after he made his minor league debut earlier that year with Geneva and Quad Cities at the Single-A level. At the time Maddon, who played for Quad Cities in 1976, was a minor league manager with the Angels.
"He comes over and taps me on my back said I like the way you play the game," recalled Martinez, who had never met Maddon.
Washington general manager Mike Rizzo (no relation to Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs) grew up in Chicago and met Martinez many years ago.
"A guy we have thought about and known about for a long time," said Rizzo, who interviewed Martinez for the managerial job before it went to Matt Williams prior to the 2014 season. "He is a creative mind. His resume is impeccable."
Martinez takes over for Dusty Baker, whose first big league managerial job came in 1993 with the San Francisco Giants when Martinez was an outfielder on the club. Another member of that team was infielder Williams, the Washington manager from 2014-15.
Martinez also played in the majors for Bobby Cox, the long-time manager of the Braves.
"I have a lot of positive energy," Martinez said. "I am very hand's on. I love talking to the players. It is my strong suit."
One of his instructors in the Cubs system was former big league outfielder Jimmy Piersall (who passed away in June) and his manger in Iowa was Larry Cox, who died in 1990 at the age of 42.
Martinez made his big league debut with the Cubs in 1986 and played 16 years in the majors. He hit .276 with 91 homers in 1919 games.
The New York native, who went to college in Florida and now lives in Tampa, was a member of the coaching staff under Maddon in Tampa Bay and with the Cubs.
He was on the coaching staff of Tampa Bay for the 2008 World Series and was the bench coach under Maddon when the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.
Now he will try to bring the first World Series title to the Nationals, who have won the National League East title four times since 2012 but have never got past the first round of the playoffs.
"Moving forward, this team doesn't lack much," the bilingual Martinez said. "We're here to win the World Series."
Editor's note: David Driver is a free-lance baseball writer in Maryland who covers the Nationals for The Sports Xchange, a national content provider. He has also contributed to VineLine, a Cubs publication, The Des Moines Register, Baseball Digest and milb.com. He can be reached at www.davidsdriver.com.