Mets uber-prospect Fernando Martinez has had a rough introduction to the Big Leagues. Necessitated by a spate of injuries, Martinez has spent the last several weeks learning the ropes of being a big leaguer. While he’s hitting well under the Mendoza line, “F-Mart,” as he’s nicknamed, takes his early struggles in stride.  He ranks dealing with his offensive woes as just the second-hardest thing he’s ever had to deal with.

The first-hardest thing he’s ever had to deal with? Acne. (Abject poverty, according to Martinez, is a distant third)

“Yes. It was hard for me, you know, because it’s not attractive,” said the twenty-year old. Harder than my slipper doing triple duty as foot protection, a glove, and dinner plate as a youngster. “A lot of my friends my age at Chico Escuela High Escuela are starting their sophmore years and didn’t have it as bad as me.”

After signing a $1.4 million signing bonus with the Mets in 2005 as a 16-year old, Martinez tackled his acne issues head on, immediately ordering a two-year supply of Proactiv. A few years later, now only his at-bats are unsightly. As a result, F-Mart regularly treats his Louiseville Sluggers with Proactiv’s three step solution.

Martinez says that while he was popular at Chico Escuela, his skin condition left him too shy to approach girls. During his final year, however, the Proactiv had cleared up most of his acne and he was voted by classmates as the “Most Likely to Live to Old Age, 35 years old” in the class yearbook. Doing his best to catch up for lost time also paid off – his female classmates also voted him to a third-place finish in the “Largest Penis” contest.

So what lessons did Martinez’s battle with adolescent acne teach him about dealing with the pressure of producing in the Major Leagues? “I see what Proactiv has done, and then I look at guys like Gary Sheffield, and even Mike Piazza who visited the clubhouse the other day. I heard he had some back acne.  They tought me that any problems or shortcomings are easily corrected with artificial chemicals applied to the body. Just be persistent and use them regularly, and you can also reap the benefits. So I just gotta be patient. In fact, Kirk just put in a renewal order for me.”

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