Pedro Martinez Discusses Retirement

Posted Mar 03, 2009 5:10PM By John Walters (RSS feed)

Pedro Martinez is a man without a job. But as he prepares to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, he tells us that he doesn't need a job that badly. If there's a choice between retirement, and joining a team on a one-year, $1 million contract, Pedro would choose retirement.

"If I wanted to pitch that bad, I probably would," Martinez said about agreeing to a low guarantee comparable to Glavine's. "But I don't think I'm in that stage. I believe I'm very comfortable. I'm not going to let anybody disrespect my abilities or the way I am. I wouldn't say I would want to pitch that bad."

A lot is going to depend on not only whether Martinez pitches well in the WBC, but whether he even pitches at all. It's not guaranteed that he's going to get a start over Ubaldo Jimenez for the Dominican Republic, so with nothing to go on besides an injury-filled 2008 season, there's no way Martinez is going to get the contract he's looking for (especially when nobody is getting the contract they're looking for). So if Martinez holds to this, it could be a sad end to a surefire Hall of Fame career -- an end that he's apparently comfortable with.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-03-2009 @ 6:10PM

Crash173 said...

Good, signed Don Zimmer

3-03-2009 @ 6:38PM

Nelson said...

Hey Pedro, whatever happened to the LOVE of the game. Just to play the game. I would do it for free. As most Americans would, now it's take the money and get hurt or say your're hurting, go on the disabled list (Carl Pavano). You bunch of crooked babies. Baseball has been bery bery good to you, why not take a small paycheck ( 1m) yeah that's small. Retire you bum, who needs you? Believe me you will NOT be missed.

3-03-2009 @ 8:05PM

tpkap said...

I was gonna say bring him back to Boston but screw him for what he did to Don Zimmer.

3-04-2009 @ 1:10PM

bluefish said...

Pedro:
Nice bed you made for yourself, now go lie in it you beans and rice piece of dirt! never mind Don Zimmer, how about your breutifully enacted gesture towards the fans that adored you and your total disdain for the tradition of the game and what it meant to play in the majors. Your reputation will be a legacy of absolute disgust for you by the followers of baseball, your records and truly great baseball talent will fade into the past with the speed of a bullet and you will be spoken of as " oh yeah, Pedro, what a great pitcher but what a piece of dirt example of his sport for the kids to follow and look up to, especially the one you made one of your more famous gestures to at Fenway, I'm sure you remember the one, because, he sure remembers you, you're going to probably make the hall of fame, hey, nobody denies you could pitch, too bad you just couldn't see yourself to sharing some of the joy with the fans, especially the kids, but hey, what the hell, you've got a few bucks saved up and you'll be fine, until later on in your life when you think back on just how much you put back into a game you were supposed to love and took such pride in your abilities, see you Pedro,it's kind of nice to go and watch a game WITHOUT you, nobody really notices anyway!!!

3-04-2009 @ 2:54PM

Shelly said...

Martinez, though not perfect, does not deserve all this racist scorn. There is no place in baseball for these antiquated inhumane attitudes.

3-04-2009 @ 3:16PM

faeasttrade said...

another one just like manny. both sent packin from boston. good riddins. he too crapped on the fans and disrespected baseball. well all i need today is another story about roger clemons. where is he today????? couldn't happen to a better guy. (hahahaha) it's all about the money always was and always will be for some of these arrogant selfish brats. acting like kids playing a kids game. sorry kids didn't mean to disrespect you by lumping the word kids in with these brats.