Pedro Martinez Tells His Story

I've been a Bombers fan since 1965. They weren't the Bombers during that time of course.

Absolutely the best pitching performance I've ever watched was the night that Pedro struck out 17 Yankees.

He was other worldly that evening.

I took a good friend (and sportsman) from Zaire to Fenway on a perfect summer evening, sitting ten rows back on the first base side between home plate and the Red Sox dugout. Pedro pitched an absolute masterpiece and the Sox won a pitchers duel in the bottom of the ninth. On the way out, I remarked that if he wasn't a baseball fan now, there was nothing I could do for him. Pedro at his peak was a competitor, an artist, and a unique man. You wanted him on your side.

During spring training in 2007, I was in the Mets clubhouse to present Willie Randolph with a copy of my newly published baseball book. Afterwards, I noticed Pedro Martinez sitting at his locker looking a bit forlorn. I had picked up a scuffed baseball from one of the practice fields and thought a ball autographed by Martinez would impress my grandsons. When I approached Pedro and asked him if he would sign the ball for my grandson he immediately did so but also commented on the condition of the ball. Calling to the clubhouse attendant, he asked for a new ball and a sharpie. I screwed up my courage and asked if he could possibly sign two baseballs since I had two grandsons who were both Mets fans. Without any hesitation he called for a second ball and signed them both.
I asked him how he was feeling after having had rotator cuff surgery and shared with him that I had also had the same procedure a few years back. He asked about my rehab, how long it had taken, when I could begin throwing and what kind of lingering pain I experienced.
He could not have been friendlier as we discussed some of his anxieties about returning to the mound.
So now my grandsons are the proud owners of new baseballs signed by Pedro Martinez and I am the equally proud owner of a scuffed baseball signed by Pedro.

Fred's boy Jeff is such an easy and consistent target. If Dad didn't own them, would he even have a job there?

I knew a guy who knew a guy...

A friend played with Pedro in the minors. I asked him ((sometime during that period when Pedro was clearly the best pitcher in baseball) why the Dodgers traded Pedro. After my friend riffed for twenty minutes on how much he hated Fred Clair he actually answered my question.

He explained that the Dodgers didn't understand Pedro. (I believe this is a theme Pedro mentions in his book) He explained that Pedro started using a machete at age 6, working the cain fields with his family, and had as strong an upper body, and right arm, as anyone in baseball or anywhere else for that matter. And he stated that Pedro simply did not know how to give up. He was incapable of backing down, no matter the count.

The Dodgers simply thought Pedro was too small and would break down. My friend said, "Yeah, they probably never shook his hand."

True story.

So, would Pedro write something that wasn't feisty?

Regarding Jeff Wilpon - On the one hand, the NY Times Sports department, as well as the Business desk, hates the Wilpons. We've seen the angle of the stories posed here that weren't posed quite the same anywhere else. On the other hand, Jeff is a jerk. He advertises it with every breath. If Pedro dictated it to his biographer, I'll go with that. It would be nice if Willie Randolph or pitching coach Rick Peterson were asked to corroborate as a part of the story. Then again, this is supposed to be a shot at Mets ownership ... why ruin it with good journalistic practice?

I believe Pedro. Wilpon just cares about the bottom line, and is a liar, to boot. He would have made a good tobacco executive, back in the day.

so many people lie to Fred Wilpon's son Jeffrey

It's nearly impossible to describe how good #45 was from 1997-2003 in general and 1999-00 in particular. At his peak he was not only dominant but captivating to watch, a genius on the mound who rode his talent and intelligence to the Hall of Fame despite his short stature (only Whitey Ford, one of the most underrated pitchers of all time, achieved so much at a comparable height). Even years after his last Cy Young Award, with his blinding fastball long gone, he could still mix up speed and location well enough to survive and occasionally thrive with New York and Philadelphia, case in point being the smoke and mirrors display he put on against the Dodgers in the '09 NLCS, giving his team a chance irrespective of his obvious limitations. Such guile, of course, had very little chance against NYY in the Series.

But he'll always be remembered for those 1998-2001 years, when the game's best pitcher squared off against the game's best team, time and again. Watching him battle against one of the most patient yet potent lineups featuring players who rarely got themselves out and a manager who loved to send left-handed batter after left-handed batter to the plate against him at Yankee Stadium was special. Despite his 2002-03 resurgence, Pedro was never quite the same after his injury in '01, seen/blamed in some Sox circles as comeuppance for his arrogance in calling out the Bambino after beating NYY, and after that year's incredible World Series neither was his great adversary.