Pedro Martinez To Announce Retirement

[Elite]

Right-hander Pedro Martinez, who last pitched in the Majors in 2009, said he will soon officially announce his retirement, according to Cash Kruth of MLB.com.

Martinez had apparently remained open to a return to the bigs since appearing in nine regular-season and two postseason games with the Phillies in '09, but nothing materialized, and now at age 40 and two full years removed from big league action, it's hard to imagine him catching on anywhere.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner and arguably the best pitcher of the offense-heavy 1990s and early aughts, Martinez has already cemented his legacy as one of the top hurlers in MLB history and projects as a lock for the Hall of Fame.

Martinez will hang 'em up with a record of 219-100 and a 2.93 ERA in 18 seasons with the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, Mets and Phillies. The advanced metrics are equally flattering as the traditional stats: 154 ERA+, 2.91 FIP, 89.4 WAR. Pedro's 291 ERA+ in 2000 is the highest single-season adjusted ERA in the modern era.

MLBTR

Pedro was probably the best pitcher in the game for a 7 year period from '97 to '03. It's a shame that injuries derailed the majority of his tenure with the Mets and basically ended his career.

First ballot Hall of Famer for sure.

 

[NV]

No doubt a hall of famer. As a Yankee fan you gotta hate this guy, but you have to respect him as one of the best pitchers of his time.

 

[The Guid]

I hated when he left but I'm sad that he kept getting hurt and couldn't continue to play at the level he was truly capable of.

If he's not a first ballot HOF then MLB can suck it

 

[cruzg24]

A great pitcher with a lot of character. Love him or hate him, you have to admit he was one of the greatest pitchers of all-time. He changed the culture of the Mets and allowed the team to bring in more star players when we signed him to that contract. He played pretty well with us but injuries definitely hurt him and his legacy at the end.