JUPITER, Fla. • The all-caps message ends with an exclamation point: “THANK YOU DAD!”
Those who knew both Jose ‘Cafecito’ Martinez and his late father, Carlos ‘Café’ Martinez, say the comparisons go beyond their nicknames. They tell the son they see the Venezuelan baseball legend in him, from his 6-foot-7 frame to the way that long, lanky build loads its swing. He even runs the same, his giant strides eating up the ground after home runs.
The tattoo on Jose Martinez’s shoulder was inked last season at a St. Louis shop, after a decade-long minor league quest turned into a dream come true with the Cardinals.