Simply put, there are certain Major Leaguers that if you put a microphone in front of them…I will listen.
Monday, former pitching great Pedro Martinez, the Boston Red Sox newly minted special assistant to general manager Ben Cherington, was front and center answering reporter’s questions.
And, suffice it to say, I would have loved to have been there to listen because,according to Peter Abraham from the Boston Globe, there were some gems. Especially when the subject of teaching young pitchers the value of being able to pitch inside was brought up.
“I think it’s all part of the game. You have to pitch inside and you have to brush them back when you have to,” the three-time Cy Young Award winner said. “I will preach it and I will say they need to pitch inside if they want to have success.”
But the best part, Martinez added that “90 percent” of the batters he plunked…he did it on purpose. Retaliation for his teammates he maintains.
Oh, and about that 2003 incident with Karim Garcia of the New York Yankees? Martinez claims that wasn’t on purpose.
“It didn’t even hit him, it hit the bat,” Martinez added. “Lucky bastard.”
Suuuuuuure.
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