Pedro Martinez to those who doubt the Red Sox: ‘Just look at the record that we posted all year’
"It's great for baseball to see that, at such a young age, they're as consistent as they are."
Retired Red Sox pitching legend Pedro Martinez isn’t making any predictions about his former team’s World Series chances, but he does have something to say to those who think the Sox will falter down the stretch this postseason.
“Just look at the record that we posted all year,” Martinez told Boston.com at Fenway Park Friday. “That says everything we need to say.”
The 108-54 Red Sox finished the regular season with the best record in baseball and in team history. Led by right fielder Mookie Betts and designated hitter J.D. Martinez, they tallied a league-high number of hits, runs, doubles, and RBI. As a team, they also boasted the best batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Individually, Betts and Martinez logged stellar years, each posting career-high stats in multiple statistical categories. Both also earned All-Star nods.
“They’re going to make two trophies this year,” Martinez said. “They can give each one of them an MVP trophy.”
Despite their regular-season success, there are some concerns about the Red Sox ahead of their playoff run. The bullpen posted an AL-worst 4.84 ERA in September. Starting pitchers Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello are a combined 2-13 (0-4 with the Red Sox) during the postseason. Sale, who will start Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees Friday night, also was limited to only 14 innings during August and September due to left shoulder inflammation.
Martinez, who tweeted early Thursday morning that he’s confident Sale has had “plenty of time to fine tune anything,” said the key to Boston’s success is for the starters to remain healthy and consistent.
“Remain in shape,” he said. “Try to eliminate any fatigue, mentally, that you have. Just remain consistent about the things that you have to do to stay healthy. That’s primarily what they have to do. … It’s not easy. Unless you go and experience that, you don’t realize how difficult it is. It is really difficult to stay there for six and a half months, and also spring training, and also the postseason. It’s a lot of time. It’s almost 10 months. Period. That you spend working without any vacations.
“I just want them to stay healthy and continue to play consistent baseball, like they have so far. Every time they play consistent baseball, the results show. A record-setting type of season says a lot of how consistent they have been.”
Strong performances from the starters will also alleviate the pressure on the relief pitchers. In June, Martinez identified the bullpen as the area that needed the most improvement. Three months later, he said things look “OK.”
“It’s something that I would have loved to approach a little bit earlier,” Martinez said. “But nobody showed up that can help us even more than we have so far.”
Here are a few of his other observations:
- On manager Alex Cora’s first year at the helm: “Outstanding. Couldn’t have asked for anything better. Identifying himself with his players, the fact that he’s able to communicate and have a good relationship — a very open relationship — with the players, the fact that the players believe in him even though he’s so young and they can trust him, I think that’s his biggest strength. Earning the trust of the players is critical.”
- On the team’s greatest strength: “Balance. Consistency. It’s great for baseball to see that, at such a young age, they’re as consistent as they are.”
- On the franchise-record 108 wins: “All of them are important. Any win that you can get every year is important.”
As for what Martinez has been up to?
While working as an analyst for MLB Network, the 46-year-old said he enjoys assisting younger pitchers, including Luis Severino of the New York Yankees. He said, more than anything, he tries to emphasize the importance of “awareness of mechanics, awareness of physical work, awareness of respect for the game, and commitment to doing better things every year.”
“I try to get them to understand how long the season is, how to prepare for a new season every year, how to stay consistent every single year, and how to make the game easier,” he said.
Martinez and his wife, Carolina, recently purchased a home in a suburb outside of Boston. He said he plans to be around for the playoffs, as long as “it doesn’t get too cold.” The couple will also be actively involved in their charitable efforts. After hosting the “Feast With 45” at Fenway Park in June, the Pedro Martinez Foundation is now gearing up for their third annual charity gala set to take place Nov. 2.
“We’ve found that Boston is very supportive of what we want to do, so we chose Boston as the main place for us to do these kind of things,” Carolina said.
The event will raise money for a charter school the Foundation intends to build in the Dominican Republic, where both Pedro and Carolina grew up. Several current and former MLB players, including Severino, David Ortiz, and Jason Varitek, are expected to be attendance.
