Russell Martin

About Russell Martin

Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin Jr. (born February 15, 1983 in East York, Ontario, Canada) is a professional baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Martin has broken the record for stolen bases by a catcher with the Dodgers.

He also became only the third catcher in Major League Baseball to lead his team to the playoffs as a rookie.

Martin was born in East York, Ontario. He grew up in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada and lived in Paris, France from the age of 8-10. Martin has an African-Canadian father, Russell Martin Sr., and a white, French-Canadian mother, singer and actress, Suzanne Jeanson. His parents separated when he was only two years old. "I don't really remember when my parents separated, and it's probably better that way because I know kids these days go through some tough times," says Martin. His father used to play saxophone in Montreal subway stations to help pay for his baseball training. Along with playing baseball in the Montreal neighborhood of Notre-Dame-De-Grâce, Martin played hockey for N.D.G Minor Hockey, where glimpses of his future all-star athleticism could be seen. He graduated from Polyvalente Edouard-Montpetit High School, which was the same high school attended by former teammate Eric Gagné. After graduating from high school, Martin took a junior college scholarship at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.