J.D. Martinez commits to White House visit with Red Sox

The ongoing saga of which Boston Red Sox team members will visit the White House to celebrate their 2018 World Series win took another turn on Sunday.

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J.D. Martinez has confirmed that he will be in attendance.

“I’m going,” Martinez said at spring training. “I believe it’s an honor to go. It’s the White House. Not a lot of people get to go there, so I’m excited about it.”

And that settles that. No big hoopla needed. In fact, most of the Red Sox who have had to answer the question about their willingness to participate in the trip have tried to be as succinct as possible while doing so.

Jackie Bradley Jr. bluntly stated, “I don’t get into politics. But I won’t be going.”

Reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts said, “I won’t be going there. I decided not to.”

The only thing that players on either side of the aisle can agree on, apparently, is that they don’t want to talk about it either way. The lengthiest statement on the matter so far has come from manager Alex Cora, a native of Puerto Rico, and even he left his feelings a bit ambiguous.

However large the group representing the Red Sox turns out at the White House, these trips have become statements in themselves — almost regardless of the reason someone does or doesn’t join in. So it’s understandable that players want to move on from the topic as quickly as possible. Whether or not their words and actions appease fans and ownership alike remains to be seen.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee

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