Pitcher, Boston Red Sox
2nd season
with Red Sox
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 170
Prior to 1999:
A native of the
Dominican Republic who grew up in a town near Santo Domingo, Martinez followed
his older brother Ramon, also a pitcher, in signing with the Los Angeles
Dodgers at age 16 in 1988. He spent 1988 and ’89 with LA’s Dominican Summer
League team, where he compiled an overall 12-3 record. At 18 in 1990 he was
assigned to Great Falls of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, where Martinez
started 14 games and compiled an 8-3 record with 82 strikeouts over 77 innings
pitched. In 1991 he advanced from Class A Bakersfield to Class AA San Antonio
and finally Class AAA Albuquerque and had an overall record of 18-8 with a 2.28
ERA and 192 strikeouts. He received Minor League Player of the Year recognition
from The Sporting News for his performance.
The Dodgers returned Martinez to Albuquerque of the Pacific Coast League
in 1992 where he went 7-6 with a 3.81 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 125.1 innings
pitched. He received a September call-up to the Dodgers and went the distance
in losing his first major league start to Cincinnati. He started the 1993
season with Albuquerque but was soon called up to the parent club where his
first appearance was in relief of his brother Ramon. For the year Martinez
pitched in 65 games, almost exclusively in relief, and posted a 10-5 record
with a 2.61 ERA and 119 strikeouts over 107 innings. After the season the Dodgers traded Martinez
to the Montreal Expos for second baseman Delino DeShields. The Dodgers had
questioned whether he had the size and stamina to succeed as a starting pitcher,
but he moved directly into Montreal’s rotation in 1994. The Expos had the best
record in the NL when the season ended prematurely due to the players’ strike.
Martinez, with his outstanding fastball and changeup, contributed an 11-5 tally
with a 3.42 ERA and 142 strikeouts in 144.2 innings pitched. With his tendency
to pitch high and inside he became known as a “headhunter” and hit a
league-leading 11 batters and was ejected from 12 games and involved in three
fights. The Expos lost several key players to free agency and were less
competitive in 1995, although Martinez compiled a solid 14-10 record with a
3.51 ERA and 174 strikeouts. In a game against San Diego, he became the second
pitcher in major league history to take a perfect game into extra innings but
lost the perfect game in the tenth inning and was relieved (Montreal still
managed to win the game). The Expos finished second in the NL East in 1996,
narrowly missing a Wild Card spot and Martinez was 13-10 with a 3.70 ERA and
222 strikeouts. He was selected as an All-Star for the first time. He had an
outstanding season in 1997, posting a 17-8 tally and league-leading ERA (1.90)
and complete games (13), as well as 305 strikeouts (which ranked second) for
the fourth-place Expos. He won the NL Cy Young Award as a result. With one more
year until he became a free agent, Martinez was traded by the cash-strapped Expos
to the Boston Red Sox in the offseason. The Red Sox immediately signed him to a
six-year contract extension, worth $75 million. He was 19-7 with his new club
in 1998 with a 2.89 ERA and 251 strikeouts. He was an All-Star once again and
finished second in AL Cy Young Award voting. He also saw his first postseason
action as Boston placed second in the AL East and claimed the wild card slot.
1999 Season Summary
Appeared in 31 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 31
Games Started –
29
Complete Games
– 5 [4, tied with Eric Milton & Jose Rosado]
Wins – 23 [1]
Losses – 4
PCT - .852 [1]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 1 [6,
tied with fifteen others]
Innings Pitched
– 213.1 [8, tied with Chuck Finley]
Hits – 160
Runs – 56
Earned Runs – 49
Home Runs – 9
Bases on Balls
– 37
Strikeouts – 313
[1]
ERA – 2.07 [1]
Hit Batters – 9
[12, tied with seven others]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 6
League-leading
wins were +5 ahead of runners-up Bartolo Colon, Mike Mussina & Aaron Sele
League-leading win
percentage was +.069 ahead of runner-up Bartolo Colon
League-leading
strikeouts were +113 ahead of runner-up Chuck Finley
League-leading
ERA was -1.37 lower than runner-up David Cone
Midseason
Snapshot: 15-3, ERA - 2.10, SO - 184 in 132.2 IP
Most strikeouts,
game – 17 (in 9 IP) at NY Yankees 9/10
10+ strikeout
games – 19
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at NY Yankees 9/10
Batting
PA – 2, AB – 2, R – 0, H – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0,
SO – 1, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0
Fielding
Chances – 29
Put Outs – 13
Assists – 15
Errors – 1
DP – 0
Pct. - .966
Postseason Pitching: G – 3 (ALDS vs. Cleveland – 2 G; ALCS vs. NY Yankees – 1 G)
GS – 2, CG – 0, Record – 2-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 17, H – 5, R – 0, ER – 0, HR – 0, BB – 6, SO – 23, ERA – 0.00, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
AL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star (Starting
P for AL)
2nd in
AL MVP voting (239 points, 8 first place votes, 61% share)
AL Cy Young
voting:
Pedro Martinez,
Bos.: 140 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share
Mike Mussina,
Balt.: 54 pts. – 39% share
Mariano Rivera,
NYY: 27 pts. – 19% share
Bartolo Colon,
Clev.: 14 pts. – 10% share
Aaron Sele, Tex.:
4 pts. – 3% share
---
Red Sox went 94-68
to finish second in the AL Eastern Division, 4 games behind the
division-winning New York Yankees and qualifying for a Wild Card playoff spot
while leading the league in ERA (4.00), shutouts (12) & saves (50, tied
with the Yankees). In a close wild card race, the Red Sox put together a 9-3 September
road stretch to clinch a postseason berth. Won ALDS over the Cleveland Indians,
3 games to 2, overcoming a 2-0 deficit capped by Martinez’s Game 5 win. Lost ALCS
to the New York Yankees, 4 games to 1, with Martinez’s Game 3 win providing the
only victory for the Red Sox.
Aftermath of ‘99:
Martinez won
another Cy Young Award in 2000 with an 18-6 record, and a league-leading 1.74
ERA, 284 strikeouts, and 4 shutouts. The Red Sox once again ended up second in
the AL East but did not qualify for the postseason. Martinez was sidelined with
a minor rotator cuff tear in 2001 which limited him to 18 starts and a 7-3
record. He came back with a 20-4 record in 2002 and led the AL in ERA (2.26)
and strikeouts (239), and he finished second in the league’s Cy Young Award
voting. Martinez topped the AL in ERA again in 2003 with a 2.22 mark to go with
his 14-4 record and 206 strikeouts. Boston made the postseason as a Wild Card
entry and reached the ALCS vs. the arch-rival Yankees, where Martinez became
involved in some controversy. During his Game 3 start and having struck a
batter and blown a lead he became involved in a shouting match with members of
New York’s dugout. When Yankee RHP Roger Clemens threw at Boston LF Manny
Ramirez, the benches cleared and 72-year-old Yankee coach Don Zimmer ran at
Ramirez, who tossed him to the ground. In Game 7, he pitched into trouble and
convinced manager Grady Little to leave him in the game, leading to four
successive hits and a tie score that was decided in favor of the Yanks in extra
innings. In 2004 Martinez contributed a 16-9 record to Boston’s season that
culminated in a World Series victory for the first time since 1918. His 3.90
ERA was far less impressive than usual, but he went 2-1 in the postseason
including a win in the World Series. As a free agent in the offseason Martinez
signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the New York Mets. He posted a
15-8 record in 2005 with a 2.82 ERA and 208 strikeouts. He was an All-Star
selection for the third-place Mets as well. He was an All-Star once again in
2006, although he suffered through an injury-riddled season that limited him to
a 9-8 record with a 4.48 ERA before a torn rotator cuff that required surgery
ended his season, keeping him out of New York’s postseason run. The recovery
from the surgery was lengthy and seemed to diminish his fastball. He appeared
in five games late in the 2007 season and was 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA. Martinez had
a dreadful year in 2008, going 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA. He was an unwanted free
agent in apparent decline who finally signed with the Philadelphia Phillies
midway through the 2009 season. He had a 5-1 record with a 3.63 ERA for the NL
East champions in what was his final season. Overall, in the major leagues
Martinez compiled a 219-100 record with a 2.93 ERA and 3154 strikeouts in 2827.1
innings pitched. He was 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA and 1683 strikeouts for the Red
Sox. In the postseason he had a 6-4 tally with a 3.46 ERA and 96 strikeouts. He
was an eight-time All-Star and won three Cy Young Awards. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
in 2015. Martinez was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Red Sox retired his #45.
---
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its
inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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