Hot Stove Special: Pedro Martinez

Four players, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio, were elected to the Hall of Fame this year, and I have to say I agree that all four men are well deserving of the Hall of Fame. While I don’t feel strongly that any of the remaining candidates should have gotten in, I would strongly consider Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza had I been a voter.

Pedro Martinez (91.1%): 219-100, 2.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 3154 strikeouts.

When healthy, Pedro Martinez could shut down a lineup like few others in history. A couple of the years he put up were downright historic, even though he was pitching in an offensive era. His immense success has turned him into a hero in his home country, the Dominican Republic, and every young Dominican pitcher aspires to be like Pedro. Despite being only 5’11” and 170 pounds (compared to Randy Johnson’s 6’10”, 225 pound frame), few hitters could even fathom to make contact against Pedro’s pitch repertoire.

Pedro Martinez grew up in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic, outside the capital of Santo Domingo. Though his family was too poor to afford baseballs (or floors), he practiced pitching with oranges and learned from his older brother Ramon, who went on to pitch for the Dodgers and make the NL All Star team in 1990. The younger Martinez was signed by the Dodgers at 16 years old in 1988, and he made his major league debut in 1992 at 20 years old (and under 150 pounds). In two games (one start) for the Dodgers, he allowed two earned runs in eight innings (2.25 ERA). His manager, Tommy Lasorda, thought he was too small to be a reliable starter, so Pedro went 10-5 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 63 games out of the bullpen and two starts in 1993. Unfortunately for Southern California, the Dodgers made the ill-advised decision to send Pedro across the continent to Montreal for Delino DeShields. Though DeShields posted three decent seasons in Los Angeles, we all know what happened to Pedro. In 1994, his first year as a starter, he pitched well by going 11-5 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP before the strike ended the season. He had gotten the year off to an interesting start after he hit Reggie Sanders in the eighth inning of an April 13th start, losing his bid for a perfect game. Sanders charged the mound and started a full on brawl. Pedro returned in 1995 for his first full season as a starter, and fared well by going 14-10 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. On June 3rd, he should have had a perfect game, going all nine innings before losing it in extras. In 1996, his age 24 season, his strikeouts jumped, and he went 13-10 with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and a career high 222 strikeouts, good for fourth in the bigs. After this early off and on success, Martinez put up one of the greatest seasons in major league history in 1997. In 31 starts, he went 17-8 with a 1.90 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, 305 strikeouts in 241.1 innings, and 13 complete games. In addition, he picked up his first NL Cy Young Award, and to this day has his name on the only Cy Young trophy in Montreal. Wikipedia notes that Pedro was the first right handed pitcher to strike out 300 batters in a season with an ERA below 2.00 since Walter Johnson in 1912, 85 years earlier. After the season, the 26 year old was traded to the Red Sox, who quickly signed him to a record breaking six year, $75 million extension (plus a $17 million option, which was picked up to bring the total value to $92 million). Pedro did not disappoint in his first year in Boston, going 19-7 with a 2.89 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 251 strikeouts in 233.2 innings in 1998. Unfortunately, he missed out on the AL Cy Young Award to Roger Clemens (20-6, 2.65 ERA). He increased his control in 1999, and the results showed. In 31 games (29 starts), he went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 313 strikeouts in 213.1 innings. His 13.20 strikeouts per nine innings smashed Kerry Wood’s 1998 record of 12.58, and his 313-37 strikeout to walk ratio (simplifed to 8.46 to one) was the third best of the modern era. This time, he took home the Cy Young Award unanimously, and he barely missed out on the AL MVP Award (to Ivan Rodriguez) after two writers failed to even include him on their ten person ballots due to the fact that he was a pitcher. On an interesting side note, he managed to strike out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire all in a row to start the All Star Game, then he struck out Jeff Bagwell two batters later. Larkin is in the Hall of Fame, and Sosa and McGwire would likely be as well if they hadn’t taken steroids. He also allowed just five hits in 17 shutout innings in the playoffs that year. While it seemed like there was no way he could top that incredible 1999 season, he managed to do just that in 2000, in what I consider arguably the greatest season of all time by a pitcher. Though he made only 29 starts, he managed to go 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and 284 strikeouts in 217 innings. The 0.74 WHIP established a major league record, topping Walter Johnson’s previous best of 0.78 from 1913. He also set all time records in opponents’ batting average (.167) and opponents’ on-base percentage (.213). To make his season even more impressive, one must note that hitters went on a frenzy in 2000. Seven American League hitters knocked 40 home runs or more, while eight different members of Martinez’ AL batted over .330. Ten drove in at least 120 runs. Incredibly, the second best ERA in the AL was 3.70, more than double Pedro’s 1.74. It seemed as though he was the only pitcher in baseball who could get anybody out. He unanimously won the AL Cy Young Award. From 1999-2000, he combined to go 41-10 with a 1.90 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings. He walked only 69 batters. His peak has been called one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all time. Unfortunately, injuries limited Pedro to 18 starts in 2001, but he made the most of them by going 7-3 with a 2.39 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He returned in 2002 for a full season, finishing 20-4 with a 2.26 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 239 strikeouts in just 199.1 innings. It is still the highest strikeout total ever for a pitcher with fewer than 200 innings. Unfortunately, he finished a close second in the AL Cy Young voting to Barry Zito (23-5, 2.75 ERA). 2003 saw him pitch just 186.2 innings, but he still went 14-4 with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 29 starts and finished third in the AL Cy Young voting. In Boston’s magical 2004 season, he went 16-9, but posted what was then a career-worst 3.90 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP. In the historic World Series, he tossed seven shutout innings on just three hits to earn the win in Game Three. After the season, the 33 year old signed a four year deal with the Mets, and he came through in 2005 by going 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He pitched well to begin the 2006 season, finishing May 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA, but a hip injury destroyed his season, and he would never return to his prime. He finished the year 9-8 with a 4.48 ERA over 23 starts, then contemplated retirement that offseason. He made just five starts in 2007, going 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA. In 2008, he returned for his final full season, but was ineffective and finished 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP over 20 starts. Contract offers were scarce after his deal with the Mets ended, but he ended up signing with the Phillies in July of 2009. In nine starts to close out the season, he pitched well, going 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA. He returned to the World Series for the first time since 2004, but lost both of his starts to the Yankees. Though he would not officially retire until December of 2011, Pedro was done just after his 38th birthday.

The Dominican hero finished his 18 year career 219-100 with a 2.93 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and 3154 strikeouts in 2827.1 innings. His 1.05 WHIP still ranks as the best in the Live Ball Era and the fourth best of all time, behind only Addie Joss (0.97), Ed Walsh (1.00), and John Montgomery Ward (1.03). He is the only member of the 3000 strikeout club who pitched less than 3000 innings, and at 5’11”, he is the shortest pitcher ever to strike out 300 batters in a season. His 10.04 strikeouts per nine innings are second only to Randy Johnson’s 10.61, and his 4.38 strikeouts per walk are second only to Curt Schilling’s 4.83 (post 1900). His .687 winning percentage is the highest in the modern era among non-Yankees (Whitey Ford went 236-106 to finish at .690, all with the Yankees, while Bob Caruthers went 218-99 from 1884-1892 to finish at .688).

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Zack Silverman