Tag Archives: Pedro Martinez

September 23, 2023

Pedro’s School

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Pedro Martinez is building a sports charter school in the Dominican Republic. The school will offer vocational training in sports related areas. Most of the students will fall short of becoming a professional athlete, but the school will give them the training to work in other aspects of the sports industry.

“Education gives you the confidence to face the world. That’s what I want for the next generation. That’s what I want for my legacy.”

Boston.com

The Dominican Republic is doing well economically, and schools like this will only help. A number of ballplayers from the island brought money back to try to improve things, which no doubt is a piece of the story.

December 29, 2019

The Dogfight Decade

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The series on visualizing Bill James Starting Pitcher Ranks continues with the ten year span starting in 2004 and ending in 2013. The 1984-1993 span represents the Roger Clemens era, as his career started in 1984. The 1994-2003 span represents the Pedro Martinez era, as Martinez fully moved into the role of starting pitcher in 1994. The 2004-2013 era is more difficult to name. It’s probably the Justin Verlander era, but it could just as easily be the Johan Santana or Felix Hernandez or Roy Halladay or CC Sabathia era.

The spreadsheet shows the daily scores for the ten years of any pitcher who occupied the top slot in ranking for at least one day. The graph shows, for the group, how they moved against each other over time.

For the previous decade, only five pitchers obtained the top slot, with the fifth (Curt Schilling) not beating out one of the other four until the very end. The latest stretch saw fourteen different pitchers earn top honors. The era contains a nice mixture of pitchers with long runs of domination, and pitchers who burned brightly for a short time.

There are also a number of instances when a few of these pitchers are grouped very closely around the number one slot. The 2004 season picks up where 2003 ended, with Shilling, Martinez, and Randy Johnson fighting for the top slot, but now joined by Jason Schmidt. Schmidt is one of the pitchers with a bright but short lived burst. He pitched okay for a bad Pirates team in the 1990s, then joined the Giants in 2001 and took his game to another level, greatly increasing his strikeout rate. He reaches the top in July of 2004, then starts to fall and is pretty much done by the start of the 2007 season.

In September 2005, Santana joins the battle with Martinez and Johnson, while Roger Clemens makes his last appearance as the top starter in the game. Clemens reached number one in three decades. Santana would win the battle. Martinez fought Santana for the stop slot in 2006, but the Twins ace would dominate until the 2008 season.

At the end of 2008, two challengers arise to Santana. The Indians trade Sabathia to the Brewers, and Sabathia goes on a tear than nets him a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts. Brandon Webb reaches the pinnacle of his great but too short career. Sabathia and Santana end the season with Santana leading by about 0.3 points.

Santana starts 2009 strong, but by July there is another inflection point. As of the morning of July 8, 2009, Dan Haren sits on top with a small lead over Tim Lincecum and Sabathia, with Santana in fourth place and Halladay in fifth, fifteen points separating the lot. Sabathia and Lincecum would emerge from this scrum as the top two pitchers, Sabathia finishing at the top of the pack that year.

Sabathia and Lincecum continued to go toe-to-toe at the start of 2010, but Roy Halladay zoomed past both. Sabathia caught him briefly, and a great spurt by Hernandez brought King Felix briefly to the top*.

*And now an interlude to explain something that is lacking in my calculation. The rankings as defined by Bill James use post-season data. The Day by Day Database only has post-season data going back to 2002. When I have the data, I use it in the calculations, which is why you might see different numbers if you look at rankings on the Bill James site and Baseball Musings. Most of the time, it doesn’t make a lot of difference in the rankings, but twice it helps Roy Halladay.

At the end of the 2010 regular season, Hernandez holds about a seven point lead over Halladay. Then Halladay throws a no-hitter. Hernandez is not in the playoffs, so his score starts to decay. Halladay pitches decently in two more starts, and stays on top over the winter.

In 2011, Halladay continues to pitch well, but Justin Verlander comes into his own and blows past Halladay in July. Verlander finishes the regular season on top, but pitches poorly in the post-season, while Halladay makes two good starts. Once again Halladay spends the winter on top, interrupting what could have been a straight two years of domination for Verlander.

Verlander’s reign ends on 5/17/2013, when Clayton Kershaw takes over the top slot. As a coincidence, both Verlander’s and Kershaw’s line are colored a shade of yellow. The two have similar rises to the top, but Kershaw’s slope is a bit higher, so he reaches the top quicker.

Pitcher of that decade goes to Santana, who controlled the top from end of 2006 through the end of 2009, and continued to be in the hunt through 2010. I do like that we had three pitchers who were briefly the best, Schmidt, Webb, Haren. There were lots of different pitchers to like and plenty of arguments about who was the best of the bunch.

December 27, 2019

The Pinnacle of Pitching

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Two days ago this post looked at pitchers that reached number one in the Bill James Starting Pitcher Rankings in the ten seasons from 1984 to 1993. I picked that particular time frame to center on Roger Clemens, who debuted in the 1984 season. While Clemens dominated that period, twelve other pitchers reach number one for at least one day in that time frame. The post centered around the graph on this spreadsheet, and shows the thirteen pitchers vying for position during that decade.

Now that more data is loaded, this post looks at the next ten years, 1994 through 2003. To me, this is the start of the Pedro Martinez era, as Martinez became a starter in 1994 with his move to the Montreal Expos. In reality, it is the Martinez, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, and Clemens era. From the start of 1994 until early September 1993 2003, one of those four ranked number one in this system. It was not until 9/2/2003 that Curt Schilling broke the streak, and then for just a brief period.

The data and graph sit on this spreadsheet. The era starts off as a battle between Maddux and Johnson, lasting until Johnson gets injured during the 1996 season. In 1997, Maddux continues to pitch well, but Clemens reasserts himself, passing Maddux in June, while Martinez shoots up the chart, and passes Maddux in August. Johnson pitches well all year, but cannot dig himself out of the injury hole in one season.

Then 1998 happens. It was the middle of what came to be known as the steroid era. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa each top Roger Maris‘s single season home run record. Nomar Graciaparra, Derek Jeter, and Alex Rodriguez redefine the offensive expectations of shortstops. The Yankees put together one of the most dominant teams ever, and smash their way through the regular season and the post-season. Meanwhile, we hardly notice that four of the greatest pitchers of any era are all at the top of their game.

Martinez starts out hot, and dominates through May. Maddux comes back, and takes over the top slot on June 6. Johnson and Clemens each start a hot streak early in July, and both pass the Ms to wind up the season with Clemens at the top of the list and Johnson second.

All of this leads to the morning of Sept. 7, 1998, the day of convergence.* Clemens, Martinez, Johnson, and Maddux stand 1-2-3-4 respectively, and all hold Rating Scores over 600. Here is what their seasons looked like at that point. Johnson did not have the ERA of the other three, but he was blowing everyone else away in terms of strikeouts.

* This was the day McGwire tied Maris, and also my wedding anniversary.

That would be it for Clemens and Maddux. While still very good, they faded in 1999, letting Johnson and Martinez duke it out until Schilling rose to challenge them late in 2003. It’s clear now that most missed one of the biggest stories of 1998.

Correction: Fixed a 1993/2003 error.

May 11, 2018

Crusty Pedro

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It really didn’t take long for Pedro Martinez to slip into the “ballplayers were better in my day mode.”

Thanks to OldHossRadbourn who notes:

https://twitter.com/OldHossRadbourn/status/994565179206782976

At least Pedro didn’t talk about fundamentals. What’s always true is the best pitchers of today are better than the best pitchers of 20 years ago. Humans are always building on the work of those that came before, and mostly improving it. New technology, better training techniques, better nutrition all lead to stronger, bigger, better players. The best batter ever, the best pitcher ever, and the best fielder ever are all playing right now, we just don’t quite know who they are yet.

I would also remind Pedro the point of the game is to win, not to avoid shame. There is too much individual daily failure in baseball for players to care about that. (With the possible exception issuing a walk-off walk.)

October 4, 2017

Pedro’s Fingers

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Pedro Martinez just discussed the size of the 2017 ball compared to when he pitched. He said that when he pitched, he was able to get his index and middle finger between the two seams, with some space so he could throw the sinker properly. He showed with today’s ball that there is no gap, indicating to Pedro that the ball is tighter.

It’s a good demonstration, except that Martinez is notably heavier than when he pitched, especially when he was younger and still great. Believe it or not, if you gain weight, your fingers get fatter, too. So I don’t buy this remarks.

January 17, 2017

Famous Slams

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Cy Morong publishes a list of Hall of Fame batters who hit home runs off Hall of Fame pitchers:

The other day I mentioned to a friend that I had been to a game in Montreal in 1997 and saw Chipper Jones hit a grand slam off of Pedro Martinez. As you can see from the list below, the last case was in 1995 (and the last one before that was in 1985). That ten year gap is interesting.

Maybe it has been happening less in recent years or decades as the number of teams expanded, possibly making it less likely for future Hall of Famers to face each other. Now it probably takes time for cases to make the list since it can take years for players to get into the Hall, so that might be the reason why it has not happened in twenty years. Of course, it also depends on the writers and any selection committees that choose players. Roger Clemens, for example, allowed grand slams to Mike Piazza and Frank Thomas. Without a PED issue, Clemens would be in and we would have some more recent cases.

Note that Greg Maddux did not allow a regular season grand slam until 1996, and only gave up three for his career. He did allow a slam to Will Clark during the 1989 playoffs. Mark McGwire, John Olerud, and Benito Santiago hit the homers. Without the PED stain, McGwire would be in and we would also have another example. It’s also clear it took a very good hitter to slam Maddux. Santiago was the first of the three.

November 19, 2015 July 26, 2015

Hall of Fame Day

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The Hall of Fame inducts Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Craig Biggio, and John Smoltz Sunday afternoon. Jay Jaffe explores the idea that this is the best pitching class ever. He uses JAWS to make the comparisons. The 1936 class was the best, but:

It took three of them to do it, but this year’s class does rank second, and if not for Smoltz’s 3 1/2-year stint as a closer—a move prompted by his 2000 Tommy John surgery that may have prolonged his career by reducing his workload—it may have secured the top spot. As it is, this is a remarkable group. Johnson’s five Cy Youngs are second only to Roger Clemens‘s seven, his 4,875 strikeouts are second only to Nolan Ryan‘s 5,714, and his 102.1 career WAR and his JAWS are both ninth. Martinez, who ranks 21st in JAWS, is merely the most valuable pitcher on a per-inning basis in history, with 5.9 WAR per 200 innings, via the 22nd-highest career WAR (84.0) delivered within the 165th-highest total of innings (2,827 1/3). Within that stellar 18-season span is the fourth-highest–single-season WAR of the post-1960 Expansion Era (11.7 in 2000), delivered in a year in which he posted a 1.74 ERA in a league where 4.91 was average. Smoltz’s total of 69.5 career WAR is suppressed by his relief work, but he nonetheless excelled in that role and still ranks 58th among starters in JAWS.

Johnson and Pedro make for an interesting pair of inductees, as they are opposites in many ways. Johnson is extremely tall, 11 inches taller than Pedro. Johnson throws left-handed, Pedro right-handed. Pedro was an outstanding pitcher from the start of his career, Johnson took five or six years to find his control. Yet at their best, they were high strikeout, low walk pitchers who dominated the opposition. Their induction is well deserved.

I’m also glad to see Biggio, a great lead-off type getting into the Hall. I hope Biggio’s induction forces people to take another look at Tim Raines. The big difference between the two is Tim didn’t collect 3000 hits.

June 30, 2015

Sale Ks

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Chris Sale struck out Jhonny Peralta in the sixth inning, his tenth strikeout in the game. That gives him eight straight starts with at least 10 K in each game. Only Pedro Martinez is known to have a longer streak, ten straight starts. Pedro’s streak is kind of iffy, since he made a relief appearance in there, and the last two games came the next year. If Sale can strike out ten in his next start, he’ll have the single season record.

The White Sox and Cardinals are tied at one in the sixth.

May 1, 2015

Pedro, Head Hunter

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Pedro Martinez says in his new book that 90% of his hit by pitches were intentional. I find this unsurprising. Pedro averaged 2.4 walks per nine innings, which shows great control. He hit 141 batters, which ranks fourth in the majors between 1990 and 2011 (two years on either side of his career). He’s one of 18 pitchers to hit at least 100 batters in that time. He wasn’t missing that far in by accident, and neither were the other great pitchers on the list.

February 1, 2015 January 6, 2015

Four to the Hall

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The Baseball Writers of America elected three pitchers and an infielder to the Hall of Fame as Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz all made it on the first ballot, while Craig Biggio gets elected on his third try. Congratulations to those four deserving candidates.

It is also interesting to note that players with a PED taint seem to do worse in the overall election than they do in the the pre-published ballots:

Clemens received 37.5 percent and Bonds 36.8 percent. Clemens, the only seven-time Cy Young winner, started at 37.6 percent in 2013 and dropped to 35.4 last year; Bonds, the only seven-time MVP, began at 36.2 and fell to 34.7.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were running at about 43% in the Gizmo. It may be an age bias, where writers more likely to use the internet are more likely to vote for these players, or that people who are more willing to discuss their votes lean in that direction.

The first time I took my daughter to a baseball game was a contest between the Red Sox and the Indians with Pedro on the mound against Bartolo Colon. Courtesy of Peter Gammons, we had great seats, 11 rows behind home plate. Both pitchers were dealing that day, but Pedro went the distance for the 3-2 win, walking one and striking out ten. It was a real pleasure to watch both work that day, but Pedro was just a bit more precise in putting pitches where he wanted.

My Randy Johnson story involves the 1995 ALDS. I was at home watching game five, and my wife came in near the end as Randy Johnson was pitching in relief. The broadcast did an extreme close up of Johnson, to which my wife said, “I’m scared!” I sure hitters felt the same way.

January 6, 2015 December 30, 2014

Praising Pedro

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Dave Fleming announces the results of the Bill James Online reader vote for the Hall of Fame. Pedro Martinez received the most votes, and Dave dissects what made Martinez so special:

He was brilliant pitcher, of course: I think I’ll never see a pitcher as brilliant at Pedro was at his peak. But to call him brilliant is to miss half of what made Pedro such a singular player. To me, the remarkable thing about Martinez is that he combined the intensity…that hyper-competitiveness that players like Pete Rose or Frank Robinson or Ty Cobb possessed, with a startling joy. He played with a rare kind of humor: though he always wanted to win, he seemed to know, too, that he was making his living playing a game, and was fortunate to be doing that. That’s a difficult balance to find: combining a fierce will with a sense of perspective that allowed him to enjoy the contests he so frequently won.

November 24, 2014

Ballot Time

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The Hall of Fame announced the 2015 ballot.

The new candidates on the ballot include Cy Young Award winners like Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz, along with sluggers Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield, two-time batting champion Nomar Garciaparra and lock-down closer Troy Percival.

Other first-time candidates include: Rich Aurilia, Aaron Boone, Tony Clark, Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Cliff Floyd, Brian Giles, Tom Gordon, Eddie Guardado and Jason Schmidt.

Johnson, Martinez, and Smoltz will make a nice class, and they’ll possibly go in with Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza. I hope Tim Raines gets a little more love.

What’s also interesting is the discrepancy between support for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens (each around 35%) and Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (both under 12%). It seems that about 1/3 of the writers are willing to vote for PED tainted player, but only have so much room on their ballots. Or maybe they feel less hostility to the two players who were Hall of Famers before their alleged PED use began.

January 15, 2012

Talking to the Best

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Neftali Feliz spoke to Pedro Martinez about the transition from reliever to rotation:

“We had a good long talk and we are going to get together again,” Feliz said through an interpreter. “He said the big thing is mental approach. And that I have to trust all my pitches. I know I have to trust my changeup and slider more.”

A Pedro type change up would be an awesome weapon for Feliz.

December 4, 2011

Bowing to Reality

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Pedro Martinez, after two seasons out of baseball, decided to officially retire. It’s rare that a player retires on his terms. Most of the time, the majors retire the player.

Now we can start talking about his Hall of Fame chances. He’ll be on the ballot in three years. He seems an obvious choice, as the peak of his career was long (1997-2005) and productive (61.3 WAR, almost seven per year). He won 20 games twice, and the most he ever lost in one season was 10 (twice). He struck out 10 per nine innings for his career while walking 2.4 per nine. He won three Cy Young awards and finished 2nd or 3rd three other times.

He did not produce much his last four seasons, however, and some of the big counting numbers are low. He won 219 games, and only topped 230 innings twice. In fact, the Red Sox held him back a little as they worried about too much strain on his small frame leading to injury.

In a way, his candidacy is similar to Bernie Williams, a long and productive peak with a big fall off. The difference is while Bernie’s peak was good, Pedro was one of the best ever during his peak. This is a case where writers will ignore the counting numbers and vote for the amazing nine years Pedro pitched.

March 25, 2011 March 25, 2011 June 6, 2010

Vote for Pedro

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Via MetsBlog.com, Steve Popper suggest Pedro Martinez can cure Oliver Perez’s woes.

“He said he was watching me on television,” Perez said. They talked about delivery flaws and about working through the struggles.

Then when the Mets made their way to San Diego, Guy Conti, a senior adviser to the Mets’ minor league department, met with Perez and talked for a long time in the outfield during pregame workouts. Conti is a conduit between Martinez and the Mets, a friend and mentor.

Perez said that they discussed a plan to remake him, but also discussed ideas that Martinez had for Perez. While some in management saw Martinez as a prima donna who marched to his own drummer, he never was that way with the young starting pitchers on the Mets’ staff behind him.

I’ll add Pedro to my list of pitchers I would love to see become pitching coaches, including Mariano Rivera and Jamie Moyer. Of course, he latter two may never retire, so they could be player-coaches.