Pedro Martínez

Dominican-born Hall of Fame pitcher known for his dominant peak, three Cy Young Awards, and helping end the Red Sox's 86-year World Series drought.

He was an eight-time All-Star who won three Cy Young Awards (1997, 1999, 2000) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.^[1][2] Pedro Jaime Martínez was born in Manoguayabo, a suburb of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, on October 25, 1971.^[3] By 2023, his 219 wins and 100 losses gave him the tenth-highest winning percentage among all major league pitchers.^[4]

Quick Facts

Position: Pitcher
Born: 25 October 1971
Birthplace: Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic
Debut league: MLB
Debut date: September 24
Debut year: 1992
Debut team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Final game: September 30

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

His father, Pablo Jaime Abreu, worked odd jobs, and his mother, Leopoldina Martínez, washed clothes for wealthy families.^[3] In his first minor league season, he worked with coach Guy Conti to develop a circle changeup.^[5] Approaching free agency, Martínez was traded to the Boston Red Sox in November 1997 for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr.^[6] Martínez grew up as one of six children in a home constructed from palm wood, with a tin roof and floors made of dirt.^[3]

In 1988, the Dodgers signed Martínez as an amateur free agent.^[5] Martínez earned his third Cy Young Award after the 2000 season, during which he posted a 1.74 ERA.^[7]

What the cited sources add

According to that same Hall of Fame piece, Martínez told Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated, "I put my career in jeopardy that game."^[8]

References

Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Asher Chancey, "Pedro Martinez: The Most Dominant Pitcher of Our Lifetime", Bleacher Report, May 21, 2010; JAY JAFFE, "JAWS and the 2014 Hall of Fame ballot: An early look at the new names for 2015", January 9, 2014; David Schoenfield, "Top 20 pitcher seasons in 50 years", ESPN, September 22, 2014; Joe Posnanski, "One game, one pitcher ... who do you choose?", NBC Sports, Mar 27, 2014; KIRK MINIHANE, "Supreme Ace of All-Time? Pedro Martinez Still Best Despite Clayton Kershaw's Dominance with Dodgers", WEEI, July 7, 2014 (we also read tha en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: BEN LINDBERGH, "Dear Clayton; Love, Pedro", Grantland, September 16, 2014; SAL BAXAMUSA, "Moving Beyond ERA+", The Hardball Times, March 19, 2007; Joe Posnanski, "If the Devil ever gives me one pitcher to play for my soul ...", NBC Sports, May 12, 2014; CLIFF CORCORAN, "Albert Pujols, Pedro Martinez lead all-time Dominican Republic team", April 28, 2014; Neil Paine and Jay Boice, "The Best Pitchers Of All Time", FiveThirtyEight, May 12, 2016; "Remembering The Flair Of #45: Boston Red Sox To Honor Pedro Martinez", NPR.org (original not re en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Macur, "The fields of Pedro's dreams", The New York Times, December 23, 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Career Leaders & Records for Win–loss %", Baseball-Reference.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vorkunov, "Meet Pedro Martinez's 'White Daddy'", NJ.com, 24 July 2015; Eddy, "MiLB Top 10 Prospects Flashback: 1992 Pacific Coast League", Baseball America, September 22, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "1998 Awards Voting", Baseball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Pedro Martínez" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "2000 Awards Voting", Baseball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Muder, "Pedro Martínez Blanks Indians in Game 5 of ALDS", National Baseball Hall of Fame. facts only, no text reused. baseballhall.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pedro Martínez (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.