1971
Born October 25, 1971
Manoguayabo, Distrito Nacional, D.R.
Pedro Martínez Marquee Hall of Fame 2015
b. October 25, 1971 · Los Angeles Dodgers 1992–1993, Montreal Expos 1994–1997, Boston Red Sox 1998–2004, New York Mets 2005–2008, Philadelphia Phillies 2009
The league he pitched in was built for hitters, and he pitched as though it were not. Over eighteen seasons and five clubs he went 219-100 with 3,154 strikeouts and a 2.93 earned run average, striking out better than ten men per nine innings across his career.
He won the Cy Young Award in 1997 for Montreal and in 1999 and 2000 for Boston. In 1999 he went 23-4 and struck out 313, both league highs. The next season he struck out 284, walked 32, and threw four shutouts, more than anyone else in the American League.
He came from Manoguayabo in the Dominican Republic and was listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. Los Angeles traded him at twenty-two, unconvinced a frame that size could carry a starter's work. He was on the Boston team that won the 2004 World Series. The writers elected him in 2015 with 500 of 549 votes.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 8 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 4 | 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 |
| Cy Young Award | 3 | 1997, 1999, 2000 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 3 | 1997, 1999, 2000 |
| All-Star Game MVP | 1 | 1999 |
| Triple Crown (pitching) | 1 | 1999 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | LAD | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1993 | LAD | 66 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 1994 | MON | 24 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 0 | .091 |
| 1995 | MON | 30 | 63 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 | .111 |
| 1996 | MON | 33 | 64 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 0 | .094 |
| 1997 | MON | 31 | 69 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 0 | .116 |
| 1998 | BOS | 33 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
| 1999 | BOS | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2000 | BOS | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | BOS | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | BOS | 30 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | BOS | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | BOS | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2005 | NYM | 31 | 69 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 0 | .087 |
| 2006 | NYM | 23 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 0 | .105 |
| 2007 | NYM | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .111 |
| 2008 | NYM | 20 | 39 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 0 | .154 |
| 2009 | PHI | 9 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .071 |
| Career | — | 477 | 434 | 22 | 43 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 15 | 190 | 0 | .099 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | LAD | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2.25 |
| 1993 | LAD | 10 | 5 | 65 | 2 | 2 | 107.0 | 76 | 31 | 57 | 119 | 2.61 |
| 1994 | MON | 11 | 5 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 144.2 | 115 | 55 | 45 | 142 | 3.42 |
| 1995 | MON | 14 | 10 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 194.2 | 158 | 76 | 66 | 174 | 3.51 |
| 1996 | MON | 13 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 216.2 | 189 | 89 | 70 | 222 | 3.70 |
| 1997 | MON | 17 | 8 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 241.1 | 158 | 51 | 67 | 305 | 1.90 |
| 1998 | BOS | 19 | 7 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 233.2 | 188 | 75 | 67 | 251 | 2.89 |
| 1999 | BOS | 23 | 4 | 31 | 29 | 0 | 213.1 | 160 | 49 | 37 | 313 | 2.07 |
| 2000 | BOS | 18 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 217.0 | 128 | 42 | 32 | 284 | 1.74 |
| 2001 | BOS | 7 | 3 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 116.2 | 84 | 31 | 25 | 163 | 2.39 |
| 2002 | BOS | 20 | 4 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 199.1 | 144 | 50 | 40 | 239 | 2.26 |
| 2003 | BOS | 14 | 4 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 186.2 | 147 | 46 | 47 | 206 | 2.22 |
| 2004 | BOS | 16 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 217.0 | 193 | 94 | 61 | 227 | 3.90 |
| 2005 | NYM | 15 | 8 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 217.0 | 159 | 68 | 47 | 208 | 2.82 |
| 2006 | NYM | 9 | 8 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 132.2 | 108 | 66 | 39 | 137 | 4.48 |
| 2007 | NYM | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 28.0 | 33 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 2.57 |
| 2008 | NYM | 5 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 109.0 | 127 | 68 | 44 | 87 | 5.61 |
| 2009 | PHI | 5 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 44.2 | 48 | 18 | 8 | 37 | 3.63 |
| Career | — | 219 | 100 | 476 | 409 | 3 | 2827.1 | 2221 | 919 | 760 | 3154 | 2.93 |
On this day & linked events
1992
Major-league debut: Pedro Martínez
Pedro Martínez made a major-league debut on September 24, 1992.
2009
Final major-league game: Pedro Martínez
Pedro Martínez played a final major-league game on September 30, 2009.
Image: dbking, CC BY 2.0