On December 15, 2004, the Mets and Pedro Martinez agreed on a four-year contract, roughly valued at $53 million. The deal would be officially signed on December 17th.
Martinez was coming off a World Series win with the Red Sox, and was part of a busy Mets’ off season, during which they’d also sign Carlos Beltran (three weeks later). Martinez and Beltran were key pieces in the team’s renaissance. The Mets had finished 71-91 in 2004, and went on to win 83 games in 2005, followed by 97 in 2006, 88 in 2007, and 89 in 2008.
Martinez was 33 years old when he signed with the Mets, and had put together a brilliant career to that point. He began his career with the Dodgers, where he pitched one full season (mostly in relief). He was traded to Montreal for Delino DeShields before the 1994 season. As an Expo over four seasons, Martinez went 55-33, with a cumulative bWAR of 20.1. His ERA with Montreal 3.06, to go with 139 ERA+. His H/9 was 7.0, while his K/9 was 9.5.
Prior to the 1998 season, the Expos traded Martinez to the Red Sox for Carl Pavano and Tony Armas. Martinez spent seven seasons in Boston, where he solidified his Hall of Fame credentials. His record with the Red Sox was 117-37, with an ERA of 2.52, and a 190 ERA+. His H/9 of 6.8 and K/9 of 10.9 led to a WHIP of .978. His record in 1999 was 23-4 (ERA 2.07), and he followed that up with an 18-6 mark in 2000 (ERA 1.74). His bWAR was 53.9 over those seven seasons.
One blip in Pedro’s statistics would be his ALCS numbers with Boston. In the 2003 and 2004 ALCS, both against the Yankees, Martinez was 0-2 with ERAs of 5.65 and 6.23 respectively, leading to his referring to the Yankees as his “daddy”.
After the 2004 season, Martinez signed with the Mets, though it was clear his preference was to stay in Boston. Pedro was a six-time all star and three-time Cy Young Award winner when he arrived in Queens. His best year as a Met was his first year in 2005, when he won 15 games and lost just eight with a 2.82 ERA and a bWAR of 7.0.
Martinez began 2006 with a 5-1 record. However, he injured his hip in late May, and had two stints on the disabled list. After his 5-1 start, he went 4-7 with an ERA over seven. He injured his calf late in the 2006 season, and in September, was diagnosed with a ton muscle in his calf, shelving him for the playoffs and leaving the Mets short in the rotation.
Martinez was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff during the 2006 offseason, and missed most of the 2007 season, though he returned in early September and went 3-1 down the stretch. He was injured again in 2008, ending his last Mets season with a 5-6 record.
Pedro finished his Mets career with a 32-23 record, a 3.88 ERA, and a 109 ERA+ through four seasons. He pitched for the Phillies during their pennant-winning season of 2009, starting nine games and going 5-1.
A couple of memories of Pedro Martinez:
In 1994, he had a perfect game going into the eighth inning when he hit Reggie Sanders of the Reds with a pitch, on which Sanders charged the mound.
In the 2003 ALCS, the benches cleared in game three, and Pedro famously threw Yankees’ coach Don Zimmer to the ground in the skirmish.
In game seven of the 2003 ALCS, Boston’s manager Grady Little left Pedro in the game, though he was clearly tiring, and ultimately surrendered a 5-2 lead in the 8th inning.
Pedro has talked and written about being coerced into pitching through injuries late in the 2005 season, when the Mets were not in contention.
Martinez was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2015. He has worked in the Red Sox front office, and currently does studio work for the MLB Network. The Mets clearly obtained Pedro a couple of years too late, however he did have an influence on Beltran’s signing with the Mets, and helped bring the organization some credibility that helped lead to a period of four consecutive winning seasons.
