BALTIMORE — This has been a regular season to forget for Russell Martin.
Martin finished the season with a .211 batting average and sat below .200 for much of the year. He also struck out more than he ever had before and his defense slipped a bit.
But unlike how he was in other parts of the season, the catcher hasn’t been caught up in negativity lately because of his late-season surge.
Over his last 24 games — while the Yankees were fending off the pesky Orioles, whom they face Sunday in Game 1 of the ALDS at Camden Yards — he hit .277 with four doubles, seven homers and 17 RBIs, with an OPS of .933.
“It just feels good to get to the playoffs, for a lot of reasons,” Martin said. “Obviously, this wasn’t my textbook season at the plate and it wasn’t at all how I wanted it to go, but winning feels good.”
Nevertheless, Martin’s offensive awakening was a factor in why the Yankees were able to hold off the Orioles for the AL East title and avoid Friday’s wild-card game.
“To escape the wild card [game] was important,” Martin said. “And in September, I finally felt like my normal self. I started feeling good and my confidence was definitely higher. I felt like I could do damage hitting because I was seeing the ball well.”
Martin had been a drag in the lineup for much of his second year in pinstripes. He was hitting just .176 on July 6, but slowly bounced back after the All-Star break — similar to what he did a year ago.
But it wasn’t until the final weeks of the season that Martin really made his presence felt.
“I stopped worrying about my stats a while ago because I knew they were going to stay bad, but I know how I’m feeling and it’s a good time to feel this way,” Martin said. “I don’t even remember how I felt last year at this time, but I’d be surprised if I felt as good as I do now.”
Playing in Baltimore for the first two games of the series only should make him more comfortable.
In 26 plate appearances at Camden Yards in 2012, Martin hit .308 with a homer and five RBIs to go along with eight walks for an on-base percentage of .500.
“I feel bad for whoever we’re facing [in the playoffs],” Martin said. “We have no holes in the lineup.”
Nevertheless, Martin said that at times, he has been the hole in the lineup.
“After a while, I just laughed about it,” Martin said. “There were times I was hitting the ball good as I could and nothing was falling. But now I’m ready. This is our year.”
dan.martin@nypost.com