Today marks a special free agent signing in Phillies history
On this date in 2009, the Phillies signed future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez to a one-year deal en route to their second National League pennant.
Coming off a World Series win the Phillies were in desperate need for help in their starting rotation. In the first half of the season, World Series MVP Cole Hamels was 5-5 with a 4.87 ERA, seeming to struggle with his newfound fame and dominance.
Brett Myers went on the 60-day disabled list in July, and Kyle Kendrick was brought back up from the minors. The starting rotation in the first half of the season had a 4.98 ERA compared to the league-average 4.44 ERA in the first half.
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Jamie Moyer had an ERA of 5.99 in the first half and at one point lost his spot in the rotation.
To make matters worse, the bullpen was riddled by injuries, losing Brad Lidge, Scott Eyre, Clay Condrey, Antonio Bastardo, Chad Durbin, and J.C. Romero in June and July.
Help finally arrived in the form of 37-year-old Pedro Martinez, a three-time Cy Young winner with Hall of Fame credentials out the wazoo. With 400 career starts in his pocket coming off four years with the Mets, Martinez went unsigned early in the season coming off the World Baseball Classic.
After a short rehab stint, Martinez would make his Phillies debut on August 12 against the Chicago Cubs in a 12-5 win on the road. Martinez went five innings allowing three runs off seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts while throwing 99 pitches.
Martinez would win five of his first seven starts, capped off with an eight inning shutout performance against his former team, the New York Mets.
Having also added Cliff Lee at the trade deadline the Phillies starting rotation going into the postseason would feature three Hall of Fame candidates in Martinez, Lee, and Hamels.
Martinez made his first postseason appearance for the Phillies in game two of the NLCS against the Dodgers. He was a master of his craft on the mound, throwing seven two-hit innings of shutout ball. Chan Ho Park would blow the game in the bottom of the eighth, and the Phillies would use five pitchers to get out of the inning, dropping the game 2-1.
It would be a constant struggle in the World Series for Martinez against the Yankees, allowing nine runs in 10 innings, including four in game six.
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It wasn’t in any way a ride off into the sunset for Martinez, who would receive 91% of the Hall of Fame votes in 2015. While his time with Philadelphia was short-lived, Martinez made a major mark in the team’s quest for a second-consecutive World Series championship.