Pitcher, Boston
Red Sox
Age: 28
3rd season
with Red Sox
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 170
Prior to 2000:
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 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.
Martinez was even better in 1999 as he led the AL in wins (23, against 4
losses), ERA (2.07), and strikeouts (313). He won his second Cy Young Award and
was also second in American League MVP voting.
2000 Season Summary
Appeared in 29 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 29
Games Started –
29
Complete Games
– 7 [2]
Wins – 18 [4]
Losses – 6
PCT - .750 [2]
Saves – 0
Shutouts – 4 [1]
Innings Pitched
– 217 [7, tied with Jeff Suppan & Rick Helling]
Hits – 128
Runs – 44
Earned Runs – 42
Home Runs – 17
Bases on Balls
– 32
Strikeouts – 284
[1]
ERA – 1.74 [1]
Hit Batters – 14
[2]
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 1
League-leading shutouts
were +2 ahead of runners-up Tim Hudson & Aaron Sele
League-leading
strikeouts were +72 ahead of runner-up Bartolo Colon
League-leading
ERA was -1.96 lower than runner-up Roger Clemens
Midseason
Snapshot: 9-3, ERA - 1.44, SO - 140 in 106 IP
Most
strikeouts, game – 17 (in 9 IP) vs. Tampa Bay 5/6
10+ strikeout
games – 15
Fewest hits
allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at Tampa Bay 8/29, (in 8 IP) vs.
Cleveland 6/8
Fielding
Chances – 42
Put Outs – 14
Assists – 28
Errors – 0
DP – 2
Pct. - 1.000
Awards & Honors:
AL Cy Young
Award: BBWAA
AL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
5th in
AL MVP voting (103 points, 26% share)
AL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Pedro Martinez,
Bos.: 140 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share
Tim Hudson, Oak.:
54 pts. – 39% share
David Wells,
Tor.: 46 pts. – 33% share
Andy Pettitte,
NYY: 7 pts. – 5% share
Todd Jones, Det.: 3 pts. – 2% share
---
Red Sox went
85-77 to finish second in the AL Eastern Division, 2.5 games behind the
division-winning New York Yankees while the pitching staff led the league in
ERA (4.23), shutouts (12), and saves (46, tied with the Anaheim Angels). The
Red Sox were 29-19 by the end of May and stayed in first until June 22 as the
club stumbled. They stayed in contention while Martinez was briefly disabled
but a September fade dropped them into third before rallying to finish a close
second to the Yankees.
Aftermath of 2000:
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.
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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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