Red Sox DH JD Martinez Won't Take Part in 2019 HR Derby: 'It's a Lot of Stress'

Not even a $1 million prize will entice Boston Red Sox star J.D. Martinez to participate in the 2019 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8.  

While saying his decision is "not about the money," the 31-year-old Martinez told WEEI's Rob Bradford he would decline a Derby invitation because the competition is "a lot of stress" and "exhausting:"

"I just don't want to do it. It's a lot of stress, man. You're hitting for two minutes straight, easy. Trying to hit the ball as far as you can. I remember seeing it the first time they did it when I wanted to do it and I said, 'Thank God I didn't do it.' It was just exhausting. Those guys were out there drenched.

"The All-Star Game in itself is stressful. There's so much going on. It's not even a break. You don't have time to relax. You have to be on. It's one of those things, along with that ... I'm sure if I was making a lot less I would think about it. To me, it's about the team and giving my body the rest that it needs."

That's a disappointing decision for MLB, as Martinez has been one of the league's most prolific sluggers in recent seasons.

Martinez finished second in the majors a year ago with 43 home runs in his first season in Boston. That came one year after he clubbed 29 dingers in 62 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks following a midseason trade, which gave him 45 for the 2017 campaign.

He currently has 11 homers in 50 games this season.

While the Derby once attracted the sport's biggest names, recent fields have lacked the typical star power as a whole, even with the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper participating. As a result, MLB has included a prize pool of $2.5 million for this year's competition in hopes of drawing high-profile sluggers.

Martinez, though, won't bite.

That's not to say the Derby has never interested Martinez. In fact, he would have participated a few years back, but he wasn't invited.

"I would have done it in 2015, but I wasn't good enough," Martinez told Bradford.

The 2015 event came while he was on the rise as a slugger for the Detroit Tigers. He earned his first All-Star selection that year, and he mashed 25 homers prior to the break. However, that was not enough to earn him a spot in the field.

Now that he is an established star and the Red Sox are looking to defend their World Series title, he is electing to focus on the ultimate goal.