Buck Martinez ready to return to Sportsnet booth for Blue Jays' playoff push

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If you haven’t been rooting for Buck Martinez to return to the broadcast booth, some of your Blue Jays fandom has likely been misplaced.

It’s hard not to have a soft spot for the 76-year-old Martinez, the long-time Sportsnet voice who has been sidelined for more than two months to receive medical attention. That wait is about to be over, however.

A source told the Toronto Sun on Friday that popular colour commentator is scheduled to make his return to the airwaves when the Jays travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in a weekend series that begins a week from now. The development was later confirmed with an announcement on both the Sportsnet television and radio broadcasts.

It will be a welcome return for the long-time voice of the team, who has been sidelined with medical concerns since late May.

But Martinez has been getting stronger by the day and is excited for his return working alongside his play-by-play partner, Dan Shulman.

Through Martinez’s absence, Shulman has worked with a variety of partners, primarily regular studio host Joe Siddall, who has filled in admirably and is with him again for this weekend’s three-game series against the Kansas City Royals.

During his absence, Martinez has remained engaged with the team’s progress and surge up the standings as well as the activities around the trade deadline.

On June 30, Sportsnet announced that Martinez’s absence would be elongated as he recovered from a medical “setback.”

“Hey Blue Jays fans, I was planning to be back in the booth tonight after some scheduled time off, but I recently had a little health setback,” Martinez’s statement on the broadcast said. “While I’m feeling pretty good, I’m going to take some extra time off out of an abundance of caution.

“I hope to see you at the ballpark soon. As always, thanks for your love and support!”

Soon is just around the corner, now.

In a text with the Toronto Sun, Martinez acknowledged that he’s feeling better and looking forward to a return to the comfort of the booth for the most critical part of the Jays season and into the playoffs. He’s looking forward to the playoff push and calling games for a team that has a different look in both performance and personnel since he began his absence.