Teams:
Los Angeles Dodgers (1992-1993)
Montreal Expos (1994-1997)
Boston Red Sox (1998-2004)
New York Mets (2005-2008)
Philadelphia Phillies (2009)
Career Statistics:
W-L: 219-100
W-L %: .687
ERA: 2.93
Strikeouts: 3,154
BB: 760
CG: 46
SHO: 17
IP: 2,827.1
WHIP: 1.05
Pedro Jaime Martinez was born in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic in 1971. In 1988, he was signed as an amateur free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He spent several years in the Dodgers's farm system, and was finally called up to the majors on September 24, 1992, where he worked two scoreless innings of relief against the Cincinnati Reds. On September 30, he made his first start, also against the Reds, though it was in a losing effort. Dodgers skipper, Tommy Lasorda, often used Martinez as a reliever, as he felt him too small to be a reliable starting pitcher.
In 1993, Martinez became the Dodgers's setup man, posting a 10-3 record with a 2.61 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 65 games played. Prior to the 1994 season, Martinez was traded to the Montreal Expos for Delino DeShields because the Dodgers were in dire need of a second baseman due to a contract dispute with Jody Reed.
It was with the Expos that Martinez began developing into a top pitcher. On June 3, 1995, he pitched nine perfect innings against the San Diego Padres before giving up a hit in the bottom of the 10th inning. He was promptly removed from the game, but ended up being credited with the win. In 1997, he sported a 17-8 record and led the league in ERA (1.90), strikeouts (305), and complete games (13). The 13 complete games gave him the tie for second most in a season. He would also win the National League Cy Young Award that season.
Martinez was traded to the Boston Red Sox in November 1997 as he was approaching free agency. His impact was immediate, as he went 19-7 and finished second in the American League in strikeouts, ERA, WHIP, and in Cy Young voting. 1999 saw Martinez post one of the greatest pitching performances in history with a 23-4 record, 2.07 ERA, and 313 strikeouts. These numbers gave him the pitcher's Triple Crown for '99. He was unanimously selected as the AL Cy Young winner and came in second in MVP voting, though many felt he had been robbed in this regard.
Despite the amazing year Pedro had in 1999, 2000 was even more impressive. His ERA was a miniscule 1.74 which was nearly half the second-lowest ERA in the American League (Roger Clemens's 3.70). He also gave up only 128 hits in 217 innings pitched, which translated to 5.13 hits per 9 innings pitched, the third lowest mark on record. He also won his third Cy Young. Though his record was 18-6, those numbers don't reflect what a phenomenol season he had that year. In his six losses, he had 60 strikeouts, 8 walks, and only 30 hits allowed with a 2.44 ERA and .79 WHIP. He averaged eight innings per start. In two of his losses, he was beaten by the Yanks's Andy Pettitte, one of the premier pitchers of the time. The other four losses were each by only one run. In fact, his first loss of the season 1-0 complete game in which he fanned 17 batters and walked only one. His WHIP this season was 0.74 which broke the record set by Walter Johnson in 1913.
Midway through the 2001 season, Martinez suffered a rotator cuff injury and was placed on the disabled list. He ended up finishing with a 7-3 record, and 2.39 ERA, and 163 strikeouts in only 116 innings pitched. He rebounded in 2002, and led the league in ERA (2.26), WHIP (0.923), and strikeouts (239), and amassed a 20-6 record. However, the Cy Young Award ended up going to the Oakland A's Barry Zito, in spite of the fact that he had a higher ERA, higher WHIP, fewer strikeouts, and lower winning percentage. It was the first time since the introduction of the Cy Young Award that the pitcher who led the league in all of these statistics didn't win the trophy.
Pedro posted a 14-4 record in 2003, led the league with a 2.22 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and finished second in strikeouts by a single K. He came in third in the Cy Young voting. In spite of an unusually high 3.90 ERA, Martinez managed a 16-9 record in 2004 and helped the Boston Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years.
Pedro Martinez became a free agent after the 2004 championship season, and ended up signing a 4-year contract with the New York Mets. In his first season, he posted a 15-8 record with a 2.82 ERA, 208 strikeouts, and a 0.95 WHIP, which led the league. Opposing hitters batted only .204 against him. Martinez had a very promising start in 2005, but it fizzled quickly. By the end of May, he was 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA with 88 strikeouts. However, on May 26, 2005, he was told by the umpires that he needed to change his undershirt. As he was walking down the players' tunnel to the locker room, he slipped and fell, injuring his hip. Although he finished the game, it was a losing effort. But beginning on June 6, he went 4-7 with a 7.10 ERA with a couple of visits to the DL thrown in. For the last two months of the season, he was hobbled by a calf injury. MRI's revealed a torn muscle in Martinez's left calf, as well as a torn rotator cuff. He ended up requiring surgery which sidelined him for most of the 2007 season.
On September 3, 2007, Martinez returned from the disabled list and earned his 207th career win and collected his 3,000th strikeout. He ended up going 3-1 in five starts with a 2.57 ERA. However, his last start was a 3-0 loss during the Mets's historic collapse at the end of the season. Martinez performed well in the game, pitching seven innings, giving up two earned runs, seven hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts.
The injury woes followed Pedro into 2008, as he strained his left hamstring just four innings into his first game of the season. He was out for two months. He ended up posting a paltry 5-6 record, the first true losing season of his career. His ERA and WHIP were also the highest ever (5.61 and 1.57, respectively).
Martinez became a free agent after the conclusion of the 2008 season, though he failed to sign with a team during the winter. He instead joined the Dominican Republic's team for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, hoping that a Major League team would take notice of his arm and sign him to a contract, even if just as a backup. He pitched well, but his team was eliminated early and no contracts were offered. Later, he was offered a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He made his debut August 12, 2009, earning a win. Philadelphia ended up winning each of Pedro's first seven starts. He pitched well in the NLCS, and in the World Series against the New York Yankees. However, he ended up giving up four hits in four innings to the Yanks in Game Six, giving them the championship.
After the Series, Pedro announced that he had no intention of retiring, though 2010 came and went without him signing with any club. In December 2010, Pedro said he didn't expect to ever pitch again, but was reluctant to officially announce his retirement. Though some inquiries were made prior to the 2011 season, Pedro remains unsigned.
Martinez's career has been saddled with several close-calls. On April 13, 1994, he took a perfect game into the eighth inning, when he hit Cincinnati's Reggie Sanders with a pitch. Sanders charged the mound, and was later lambasted by fans and the press for believing that a pitcher would ruin a perfect game just to intentionally hit him with a pitch. On June 3, 1995, he technically threw a perfect game by sitting down the first 27 Padres batters he faced. However, the game was tied 0-0 and ended up going into extra innings. Pedro ended up surrendering a double on the 28th batter he faced and was removed from the game. The Expos would go on to win the game. Prior to 1991, he would've been awarded a perfect game, but a new rule stated that the pitcher must remain perfect for the duration of the game, no matter how far past nine innings the game goes. On September 10, 1999, he faced just 28 Yankees batters, struck out 17, and walked none. Martinez hit Chuck Knoblauch to lead off the game and surrendered only a homerun to Chili Davis in the second inning. On August 29, 2000, Martinez took a no-hitter into the 9th against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He lost it on a lead-off single to John Flaherty. What's more impressive is that Pedro accomplished all of this after being punched in the face after hitting Tampa Bay's lead-off batter, Gerald Williams, to start the game.
To date, Martinez has never pitched a perfect game or a no-hitter, but he has put up far more impressive numbers throughout his career than many other pitchers who have.
No comments:
Post a Comment