Setting The Record Straight - PEDRO MARTINEZ

[carrsallstars]

Just a couple of Pedro tidbits I think are fun to be reminded of; from the Pedro Wiki page:


Martínez's WHIP in 2000 was 0.74, breaking both the 87-year-old modern Major League record set by Walter Johnson, as well as Guy Hecker's mark of 0.77 in 1882. The American League slugged just .259 against him. Hitters also had a .167 batting average and .213 on base percentage, setting two more modern era records. Martínez became the only starting pitcher in history to have more than twice as many strikeouts in a season (284) as hits allowed (128).

Martínez was named the AL Pitcher of the Month in April, May, June, and September 1999, an unprecedented feat for a single season.

Martínez punctuated his dominance in the 1999 All-Star Game start at Fenway Park, when he struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell in two electrifying innings. It was the first time any pitcher struck out the side to start an All-Star Game, and the performance earned Martínez the All-Star Game MVP award.

Martínez was a focal point of the 1999 playoffs against the Cleveland Indians. Starting the series opener, he was forced out of the game after 4 shutout innings due to a strained back with the Red Sox up 2–0. The Red Sox, however, lost the game 3–2. When the Indians also won the second game, it appeared that Martínez had thrown the last pitch of his wondrous 1999 season. Boston won the next two games to tie the series, but Martínez was still too injured to start the fifth and final game. However, neither team's starters were effective, and the game became a slugfest, tied at 8–8 at the end of 3 innings. Martínez entered the game as an emergency relief option. Unexpectedly, Martínez neutralized the Cleveland lineup with six no-hit innings for the win. He struck out eight and walked three, despite not being able to throw either his fastball or changeup with any command. Relying totally on his curve, Martínez and the Red Sox won the deciding game 12–8. Other than his 9 perfect innings in 1995, this performance is often cited as Martínez's greatest.

 

[ccouch (Chad)]

Anybody who knows me knows I'll make an argument against just about anybody's Hall candidacy. But not Pedro. He's as first-ballot as it gets.

 

[Lars]

He is first ballot all the way and I'm confident the writers are going to him that honor.

It isn't even a question at this point how the writers will feel towards him.

 

[markakis8]

This really isn't a debate at all. 1st ballot.

I have faith at least 75% of the writers will put him on their ballot when the time comes. He deserves above 90% like all the previous 1st ballot locks but you can never tell what the ******* writers are thinking.

 

[bmp1971]

Just a couple of Pedro tidbits I think are fun to be reminded of; from the Pedro Wiki page:


Martínez's WHIP in 2000 was 0.74, breaking both the 87-year-old modern Major League record set by Walter Johnson, as well as Guy Hecker's mark of 0.77 in 1882. The American League slugged just .259 against him. Hitters also had a .167 batting average and .213 on base percentage, setting two more modern era records. Martínez became the only starting pitcher in history to have more than twice as many strikeouts in a season (284) as hits allowed (128).

Martínez was named the AL Pitcher of the Month in April, May, June, and September 1999, an unprecedented feat for a single season.

Martínez punctuated his dominance in the 1999 All-Star Game start at Fenway Park, when he struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell in two electrifying innings. It was the first time any pitcher struck out the side to start an All-Star Game, and the performance earned Martínez the All-Star Game MVP award.

Martínez was a focal point of the 1999 playoffs against the Cleveland Indians. Starting the series opener, he was forced out of the game after 4 shutout innings due to a strained back with the Red Sox up 2–0. The Red Sox, however, lost the game 3–2. When the Indians also won the second game, it appeared that Martínez had thrown the last pitch of his wondrous 1999 season. Boston won the next two games to tie the series, but Martínez was still too injured to start the fifth and final game. However, neither team's starters were effective, and the game became a slugfest, tied at 8–8 at the end of 3 innings. Martínez entered the game as an emergency relief option. Unexpectedly, Martínez neutralized the Cleveland lineup with six no-hit innings for the win. He struck out eight and walked three, despite not being able to throw either his fastball or changeup with any command. Relying totally on his curve, Martínez and the Red Sox won the deciding game 12–8. Other than his 9 perfect innings in 1995, this performance is often cited as Martínez's greatest.

I watched every pitch of that game and I must admit it was Petey at his best-- crafty and hyper competitive. I remember when he started warming up in the pen the Indians players looked gripped with fear-- a fear they knew the game was over-- despite Petey not being 100%. They knew he was the best, and you could see the whole stadium got gripped with the same fear. His fastball was down around 89-91 due to whatever injury he was dealing with, but he painted (not sure why this quote above says he didn't have command of his fastball?) and kept the Tribe off-balance the whole 6 innings....no-hit innings, I should reiterate! Seems the other guys carried him around on their shoulders after the game. It was quite an event.

Also, don't forget he beat NY and Clemens in Clemens' return to Fenway in game 3 of the 99' ALCS (Fenway chanted: "Where is Roger?" and responded to it's own chant: "In the shower!" Haha.) Petey K'd 12 in 7 innings of 2 hit ball and whooped the Yanks 13-1-- it was the Yankees only post-season loss in 1999. As I recall, the Yankees looked like a bunch of high-schoolers out there against him that night....they had no chance at all.

Side note of interest on Petey: I saw him in 92 in FL in Spring Training with the Dodgers. Got to hang out alone with him and the bullpen coach and bullpen catcher for a long while as he warmed up to replace Ramon that day against the Mets and a funny Roger McDowell. Petey looked like he had the body of a ballerina with a bad haircut. He looked malnourished, to say it politely. But as I stood behind the fence that the catcher was backed right up to out in right field, I got a view of Martinez stuff I'd never get again, nor many will ever see that up close. What I can say is that the last 5 feet before his fastball crossed the plate were somewhat magical-- the ball seemed to skid as on an oil slick, and often danced in the direction of what would be in on the hands of a right-handed hitter. The more I saw this, the more I looked wide-eyed at the Dodger's bullpen coach, who kept saying every few pitches or so, "Kid's got a good arm, huh?" I nodded my head, of course with big eyes. Petey was pretty funny too, because he kept looking at me as if to see my response. I kept nodding at him to let him know it looked damn good. His heater looked to be around 87-88 in the pen that day, but with that late life to it, it didn't matter if it was 82 mph. The ball had some seriously funky movement. From that time until he retired, he's been my favorite pitcher in baseball.

I forgot who told me, but that late life on his fastball has been attributed to the length of his fingers, which is said to be much longer than normal....which obviously gave the ball some sick, tight rotation, not to mention great leverage on the curveball, which was absolutely devastating as well.

Petey's the best pitcher I ever saw, and I saw Clemens throughout his career in Boston.

I think Petey's in on first ballot.

 

[Lars]

Just a couple of Pedro tidbits I think are fun to be reminded of; from the Pedro Wiki page:


Martínez's WHIP in 2000 was 0.74, breaking both the 87-year-old modern Major League record set by Walter Johnson, as well as Guy Hecker's mark of 0.77 in 1882. The American League slugged just .259 against him. Hitters also had a .167 batting average and .213 on base percentage, setting two more modern era records. Martínez became the only starting pitcher in history to have more than twice as many strikeouts in a season (284) as hits allowed (128).

Martínez was named the AL Pitcher of the Month in April, May, June, and September 1999, an unprecedented feat for a single season.

Martínez punctuated his dominance in the 1999 All-Star Game start at Fenway Park, when he struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell in two electrifying innings. It was the first time any pitcher struck out the side to start an All-Star Game, and the performance earned Martínez the All-Star Game MVP award.

Martínez was a focal point of the 1999 playoffs against the Cleveland Indians. Starting the series opener, he was forced out of the game after 4 shutout innings due to a strained back with the Red Sox up 2–0. The Red Sox, however, lost the game 3–2. When the Indians also won the second game, it appeared that Martínez had thrown the last pitch of his wondrous 1999 season. Boston won the next two games to tie the series, but Martínez was still too injured to start the fifth and final game. However, neither team's starters were effective, and the game became a slugfest, tied at 8–8 at the end of 3 innings. Martínez entered the game as an emergency relief option. Unexpectedly, Martínez neutralized the Cleveland lineup with six no-hit innings for the win. He struck out eight and walked three, despite not being able to throw either his fastball or changeup with any command. Relying totally on his curve, Martínez and the Red Sox won the deciding game 12–8. Other than his 9 perfect innings in 1995, this performance is often cited as Martínez's greatest.

I watched every pitch of that game and I must admit it was Petey at his best-- crafty and hyper competitive. I remember when he started warming up in the pen the Indians players looked gripped with fear-- a fear they knew the game was over-- despite Petey not being 100%. They knew he was the best, and you could see the whole stadium got gripped with the same fear. His fastball was down around 89-91 due to whatever injury he was dealing with, but he painted (not sure why this quote above says he didn't have command of his fastball?) and kept the Tribe off-balance the whole 6 innings....no-hit innings, I should reiterate! Seems the other guys carried him around on their shoulders after the game. It was quite an event.

Also, don't forget he beat NY and Clemens in Clemens' return to Fenway in game 3 of the 99' ALCS (Fenway chanted: "Where is Roger?" and responded to it's own chant: "In the shower!" Haha.) Petey K'd 12 in 7 innings of 2 hit ball and whooped the Yanks 13-1-- it was the Yankees only post-season loss in 1999. As I recall, the Yankees looked like a bunch of high-schoolers out there against him that night....they had no chance at all.

Side note of interest on Petey: I saw him in 92 in FL in Spring Training with the Dodgers. Got to hang out alone with him and the bullpen coach and bullpen catcher for a long while as he warmed up to replace Ramon that day against the Mets and a funny Roger McDowell. Petey looked like he had the body of a ballerina with a bad haircut. He looked malnourished, to say it politely. But as I stood behind the fence that the catcher was backed right up to out in right field, I got a view of Martinez stuff I'd never get again, nor many will ever see that up close. What I can say is that the last 5 feet before his fastball crossed the plate were somewhat magical-- the ball seemed to skid as on an oil slick, and often danced in the direction of what would be in on the hands of a right-handed hitter. The more I saw this, the more I looked wide-eyed at the Dodger's bullpen coach, who kept saying every few pitches or so, "Kid's got a good arm, huh?" I nodded my head, of course with big eyes. Petey was pretty funny too, because he kept looking at me as if to see my response. I kept nodding at him to let him know it looked damn good. His heater looked to be around 87-88 in the pen that day, but with that late life to it, it didn't matter if it was 82 mph. The ball had some seriously funky movement. From that time until he retired, he's been my favorite pitcher in baseball.

I forgot who told me, but that late life on his fastball has been attributed to the length of his fingers, which is said to be much longer than normal....which obviously gave the ball some sick, tight rotation, not to mention great leverage on the curveball, which was absolutely devastating as well.

Petey's the best pitcher I ever saw, and I saw Clemens throughout his career in Boston.

I think Petey's in on first ballot.

 

[bmp1971]

that explains the movement on the heater, for sure

the fingers themselves don't actually look so long, just double-jointed or bent, or whatever

i know he must have had longer-than-normal fingers, as i've seen how he was able to really get on top of the ball for his curve, and for someone with his arm-slot, long fingers would have had to have been the major reason he could get that wicked 12-6/1-7 break that he did.

thanks for posting

 

[elmalo]

!st ballot. Would love to see him come back this year!

 

[Pinbreaker]

Now there are 4 no votes.

Amazing.. I guess there will always be douches that vote no just because they can..

 

[gmarutiak]

I just posted this under a similar topic, but Joe DiMaggio didn't get in until his third try. Duke Snider made it in on his eleventh try.

Pedro is the greatest pitcher I've ever seen (I'm 37), but Roberto Alomar is the greatest 2B I've ever seen.

I have no faith in the BBWAA, so I picked "not on first ballot."

 

[Pinbreaker]

I saw him the 2000 opening day game at Safeco against Moyer..

They both went back and forth in a pitching dual.. but his stuff was nasty.. The fact he went from throwing in the 90's with heat, to a 65 mph nasty curve. I thought his pitches should be illeagle, for a pitcher to have that many types of pitches and to make the batters look that foolish.. Pedro won that game 2-0..

 

[bowmanchromeandorr]

I don't care about stats

Pedro is the only player in major league history to bitchslap Don Zimmer

That alone makes him a first ballot HOFer

+1 and the fact he dominated the AL East and everywhere else he pitched

 

[Wes]

Anybody who doesn't vote for Pedro should lose their vote.

[youtube:3knu94z8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrMCccgeJjs[/youtube:3knu94z8]

[youtube:3knu94z8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lin5EgflkmE&feature=related[/youtube:3knu94z8]

 

[scotty21690]

^

Filthy. LOVE watching him pitch.


"Pedro won the pitchers triple crown in 1999"

What more can be said?

 

[bmp1971]

Anybody who doesn't vote for Pedro should lose their vote.

[youtube:1upav4dk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrMCccgeJjs[/youtube:1upav4dk]

[youtube:1upav4dk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lin5EgflkmE&feature=related[/youtube:1upav4dk]

and enter the baseball fan mental hospital.

 

[bodiaz]

I am one of the most strict guys when it comes to HOF. Pedro is a lock. If he does not go 1st ballot it is crazy, but 1st ballot should not matter. You either are a HOFer, (Pedro) or you are not (Jim Rice) 15 tries. Writers had it right the first 14, got it wrong once and now we are stuck with an even more watered down Hall.

 

[baseballguy350]

Pedro's BABIP in 1999 was actually .343. Pedro was actually incredibly unlucky that season, and still put up 23-4, 2.07 ERA, 313 strikeouts, 37 walks and a 243 ERA+.

First ballot, and one of the most underappreciated hobby stars out there:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2004-Certified-Cuts ... 33650d3e9a

 

[HPC]

I have no faith in the BBWAA, so I picked "not on first ballot."

This sums up my feelings (although I believe he will make first ballot)

I would not be surprised at all either way.

Th HOF is slowly losing its credibility and not giving it to Pedro first ballot is an insult

 

[elmalo]

You guys really think there arent any pitchers taking steroids?

 

[sportscardtheory]

You guys really think there arent any pitchers taking steroids?

Who ever said that? Pedro is as good a candidate as any for having abused steroids, but there is no proof or hear-say at all. Until a player is officially outed, he is clean.