Pedro Martinez This article is about the multiple All-Star/Cy Young right-handed pitcher. For the left-handed reliever, see Pedro A. MartÃnez. For the Spanish community of the same name, see Pedro MartÃnez, Granada. Pedro MartÃnez New York Mets - No. 45 Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Right MLB debut September 24, 1992 for the Los Angeles Dodgers Selected MLB statistics (through May 2006) Wins-Losses 202-84 ERA 2.73 Strikeouts 2,923 Former teams Los Angeles Dodgers (1992-1993) Montréal Expos (1994-1997) Boston Red Sox (1998-2004) New York Mets (2005-Present) Pedro Jaime MartÃnez (born October 25, 1971 in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic) is a baseball pitcher who plays for the New York Mets. He has won three Cy Young Awards and is considered one of the top pitchers in baseball history. In April, 2006, MartÃnez gained his 200th career win (against 84 losses, the highest winning percentage for any 200-game winner). MartÃnez is unusual for a power pitcher as he is listed as 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 170 pounds (77 kg), small by modern-day standards. However, he has been judged to be somewhat shorter and lighter than his official height and weight. Whitey Ford is currently the only post-World War II era pitcher in the Baseball Hall of Fame to have stood under 6 feet tall.
Martinez is also atypical in that he has many "out" pitches upon which he can rely. These include a sharp tailing fastball, an outstanding circle changeup, and a sharp breaking curveball. MartÃnez throws from a low three-quarter position that hides the ball very well from batters, who have remarked on the difficulty of picking up MartÃnez's delivery. Throughout his career, his arm angle has dropped increasingly lower; he presently throws from the "low 3/4" slot.
Earlier in his career, his fastball was consistently clocked in the 95 mph (153 km/h) range, but in recent years, his fastball has slowed. In many games, his fastball now tops out in the 88-89 mph (142-144 km/h) range, although he is still able to throw a mid-90s fastball when the need arises. As the speed of his fastball has slowed, he has come to rely more on his changeup as his primary "out" pitch. Baseball historian Bill James describes Martinez as being exponentially more effective than his pitching peers due to his variety of pitches, arm angles, pitch speeds, pinpoint control, and numerous modes of deception.
