• Faith: Christian
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  October 25, 1971

Pedro Martinez is a former professional baseball starting pitcher who played in the MLB from 1992 to 2009 for five teams, most notably the Boston Red Sox from 1998 to 2004. As of 2023, his record of 219 wins and 100 losses places him 10th-highest in winning percentage in major league history and fifth-highest among pitchers with over 2,000 career innings pitched. Martinez ended his career with an earned run average of 2.93, among the lowest ever by a pitcher with at least 2,500 innings pitched since 1920. He reached the 3,000-strikeout mark in fewer innings than any pitcher except Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer. Martinez is the only pitcher other than Scherzer to compile over 3,000 strikeouts with fewer than 3,000 innings pitched in his career.

As of 2023, his career strikeout rate of 10.04 per nine innings ranks sixth all-time among pitchers with over 1,500 winnings. As an eight-time All-Star, Martinez was at his peak from 1997 to 2003, establishing himself as one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history. He won three Cy Young Awards and was runner-up twice, posting a cumulative record of 118-36 with a 2.20 ERA while leading his league in ERA five times and in winning percentage and strikeouts three times each. In 1999, Martinez was runner-up for the American League MVP Award after winning the pitching Triple Crown with a 23-4 record, 2.07 ERA, and 313 strikeouts, and, along with Johnson, joined Gaylord Perry in the rare feat of winning the Cy Young Award in both the American and National Leagues.

Martinez recorded the second-lowest single-season Fielding Independent Pitching in the live ball era, the second-lowest single-season WHIP total in major league history, and the lowest single-season Adjusted ERA+ in major league history. Although his performance suffered a decline in 2004, Martinez ended the season memorably by helping the Red Sox end a long drought in winning their first World Series title in 86 years. Officially listed as 5 feet, 11 inches and 170 pounds, Martinez was small for a modern-day power pitcher and is believed to have been somewhat smaller than his officially listed weight and height. In his early 30s, injuries started to keep him off the field to an increasing extent, with his success and appearances dropping off sharply in his final seasons. Modern sabermetric analysis has strongly highlighted Martinez’s achievements, and as of 2023, his career strikeout-to-walk ratio, WHIP, and adjusted ERA+ are among the highest in major league history.

Martinez dominated while pitching, most often in a hitter-friendly ballpark and facing some of the toughest competition during the steroid era, which is generally thought to have favored batters. Many consider him to be one of the greatest pitchers in major league history. In 2015, Martinez was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, joining Juan Marichal as the second Dominican to be enshrined. His number (45) was retired by the Red Sox in a ceremony held two days after his Hall of Fame induction.

What religion is Pedro Martinez?

Martinez identifies as a Christian. He accepted Jesus at an early age and knew just what to do when life challenged him. In an interview, Martinez said, “I started praying about it a little bit. At night, I would never express it to anybody, but I would say, ‘Oh God help me. If I can’t be a doctor, let me be a baseball player.’ I’d find myself praying all the time for baseball.”