Father of Sea King pitcher sues coach

Richard Dunn

SANTA ANA -- The father of a Corona del Mar High pitcher has filed

suit against the school’s baseball coach, alleging that derogatory

statements made by the coach hurt his son’s chances for college

recruitment.

The complaint has been filed in Orange County Superior Court and the

case will be evaluated Wednesday by Judge Johnathan H. Cannon, according

to Doug Smith, the attorney for Marc Martinez, the father of 6-foot-3

right-hander J.D. Martinez.

In the complaint against Sea Kings coach John Emme, Martinez is

seeking $25,000 in damages, including “intentional infliction of

emotional distress.”

The suit alleges that Emme, 38, hurt the pitcher’s recruitment after a

disagreement over pitch counts. It adds that Emme made “derogatory and/or

negative” statements to potential college coaches about Marc Martinez

and/or his son after a disagreement in late 2000 or early 2001 about the

number of pitches the staff was being required to throw.

In the suit, the father alleged that he was concerned about the

potential harm the pitches could have on his son’s arm “for future

college participation and potentially professional baseball.”

“I complained [initially] to the [Newport-Mesa Unified] School

District about multiple players being overused,” said Martinez, a

physician by trade and former volunteer parent/coach in the off-season

for the high school program. “It wasn’t just my son. And I complained to

the school district about multiple problems in the athletic department.”

Emme, who guided the Sea Kings to the CIF Southern Section Division IV

championship in 1999, said J.D. Martinez threw two 100-pitch games, according to a parent scorekeeper, in his varsity career, which included

his sophomore year on the ’99 title team.

Combined with his junior year in 2000, Martinez compiled a 5-7 record

in 66 innings pitched, yielding 98 hits and 71 runs (46 earned). Emme

said the father “pulled” his son off the team last spring.

The suit also alleges that Emme, a former college pitcher, denied a

problem and indicated that he would “close the door” to J.D.’s possible

participation in college baseball if “he discussed this topic with anyone

else.”

Emme has a different version of events.

“J.D. never complained about a sore arm and we always had pitch

counts,” Emme said. “And if you look at the stats, he gave up 1 1/2 hits

every inning, so he didn’t stay in games particularly long.”

Emme added that J.D. Martinez “has never broken 80 mph” with his

fastball, a huge factor in the eyes of professional baseball scouts in

determining prospects. As a general rule, scouts do not take a second

look at right-handed pitchers with fastballs clocked under 85 mph.

Former Sea King standout Ty Harper, now a junior at Pepperdine

University, said Emme does “absolutely everything he can” to help his

players achieve the goal of playing college baseball. Five of Emme’s

former players, including Harper, are currently on Division I college

rosters.

“I’ve talked to a lot of other kids, and their coaches don’t help them

at all,” Harper said. “It’s not something they’re required to do as

coaches.”

Harper said he isn’t allowed to talk to his former teammate because of

the lawsuit, and added that he’s disappointed it has escalated to this

level.

“Someone throwing 77 mph can’t pitch in Division I, or even the pros,”

Harper said. “And, another thing, how do you expect to get a college

scholarship if you don’t even play your senior year? How does a [college]

coach look at that? There might be problems with the coach, but you still

have to play baseball.”

Marc Martinez said his son, who is not playing college baseball, is

currently playing “in a very competitive wooden-bat league.”

At least one coach believes the comments high school coaches make

about players has little effect on college recruiting anyway.

UC Irvine baseball coach John Savage said the input from high school

coaches about a player is minimal because “we get to know our players

quite well before we offer them a scholarship. We’re in their house;

we’re on the phone; we go in a lot of directions and we get a lot more

information than what a high school coach said about a kid. . . . There

are only 11.7 baseball scholarships, so we have to be real selective.

It’s tough to get a scholarship. It’s not an easy thing.”

In fact, the publicity generated by the lawsuit will probably not

enhance J.D. Martinez’s appeal as a college or pro baseball candidate.

“This whole thing isn’t going to make him a better ball player, or

more desirable for a college program,” said Costa Mesa-based pro baseball

scout Gary Johnson of the Kansas City Royals. “It kind of puts a mark on

him.”

Emme, who also led Corona del Mar to league championships in 1999 and

2001, said he has received “an outpouring of support from the baseball

community in this whole thing. I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls, even

from scouts and umpires. One umpire called and I asked him, ‘Is this

going to get me any calls this year?”’

“Ultimately,” he added, “I really regret what this whole situation has

done to J.D. He had an opportunity to play his senior year with his

classmates and win a [Pacific Coast] league championship, and he got that

taken away. And now this. It’s sad.”

Marc Martinez said his son never hurt his arm and that his high school

baseball stats were not entirely accurate. No corrected stats were

offered.

Smith, the plaintiff’s attorney, said the father is concerned for the

“safety of all sports athletes in the community . . . protecting their

safety during play, whatever that entails, whether it’s the field

surface, equipment or instruction.”

Smith, a Santa Ana-based attorney, added that the complaint is “not

just about [Marc Martinez’s son], but basically all the players.”

* Rich Dunn covers sports. He may be reached at (949) 574-4225 or by

e-mail at o7 [email protected] .