He danced, cheered, and inspired. Pedro Martinez's Hall of Fame speech was as dominant as the career that got him here in the first place.
Martinez, whose 18-year run included helping the Boston Red Sox end their World Series jinx, joined former San Francisco Giants ace Juan Marichal on Sunday as the only natives of the Dominican Republican to be enshrined in Cooperstown. The hard-throwing right-hander celebrated his Hall induction with a stirring speech punctuated by him and Marichal on stage with the Dominican flag.
"We waited 32 years for another Dominican," Martinez told the crowd. "I hope all Dominicans remember this."
Flanked on stage by two of the greatest pitchers of their generation - Randy Johnson and John Smoltz - as well as Houston Astros spark plug Craig Biggio, Martinez danced and fist-pumped his way to the podium in front of a crowd of 48,000 people, which included several top officials from the Dominican government.
"It must have been 6:30 in the morning (today)," Martinez said. "I was having a hard time catching that last hour or two (of sleep). ... I don't think the Dominican Republic will have a better image than having me and Marichal, who cleared the way for all of us to Cooperstown, on Father's Day (in the Dominican) to be out there and give them the opportunity to see their first two sons in the Hall of Fame. I thought it was probably the greatest gift I could have come up with for Father's Day in the Dominican and for the Dominican population."
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
Martinez, who won three Cy Young awards and five ERA titles during a fearless career spent mostly with the Red Sox, Montreal Expos, and New York Mets, told the crowd to remember him as a role model, not a Hall of Famer.
"Look at me as a sign of hope for a third world country, a sign of hope for a future generation," he said.
The current MLB Network analyst, known for his passion and quick-witted humor, paid homage to several people during his 32-minute speech, from his former general manager Dan Duquette to Johnson, his "brother from another mother."
"Tell me one thing," Martinez asked the 6-foot-10 Johnson. "What is the weather like when you stand up?"
#FirstLook at #HOF plaque of 2015 Inductee, Pedro Martinez. http://t.co/mjIwKaiPtS pic.twitter.com/OAJ4Lplna6
— Baseball Hall (@BaseballHall) July 26, 2015
Martinez, whose 3,154 strikeouts rank 13th on the career list, went 16-9 in 2004 and helped the Red Sox win the World Series for the first time since 1918. He pitched seven shutout innings in Game 3 on the road in St. Louis.
- With files from The Associated Press
