Austin Martin’s first career home run provides a lone offensive highlight for Twins

Austin Martin gestured to teammates in the bullpen before rounding second base, went through a high-five line in the dugout and he did a special celebration with Jair Camargo where they mimicked a jump shot after slapping hands.

That was the extent of Martin’s celebration to his first career homer, lining a first-pitch fastball into the left field seats against Detroit Tigers reliever Alex Faedo on Sunday.

“It wasn’t really that big of a moment for me personally,” said Martin, whose homer prevented the Twins from being shutout in their 6-1 loss. “Didn’t really care too much about it. I really cared more about the game and the result of the game. The result was the result, and it is what it is kind of thing, truthfully.”

Martin, the 25-year-old who played in his 15th major league game, didn’t break into a smile during his home run trot and he spoke quietly about it afterward.

“I care more about winning,” he said. “I don’t really care about personal accolades. That’s not what I’m here for. I play for the Minnesota Twins, not the Minnesota Austin Martins, you know what I mean? I’m just here to win. That’s where my focus is at. I don’t really care about what I do. I care about what we do.”

Martin received the home run ball from two fans outside the Twins clubhouse immediately following the game. Martin traded a signed bat for the ball, and he took a photo with fans.

“That was a cool moment being able to go out there and meet the guy that sent the ball back,” Martin said. “Not a lot of people do that. You heard last week about the guy that stole the ball from the little kid. Not everybody is that good of a person and that generous, so it was really good to meet him face-to-face and tell him thank you.”

Martin, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt, was called up to the Twins roster after Royce Lewis suffered an Opening Day injury. Further injuries have created more playing time for him. Martin is batting .268 through 41 at-bats with four doubles, four RBI, nine runs and now one homer.

Asked when he felt ready to contribute at the major league level, Martin pointed to a strong stint in the Arizona Fall League after the 2022 season.

“I’ve felt ready for a while,” said Martin, who was sidelined for the first half of the 2023 season because of injuries. “Just a matter of health, personally. I felt back like myself after the Fall League stint. At that point, I was confident in who I was as a baseball player and what I could do and what I could contribute to this team.”