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Phillies: Power ranking players in the Hall of Famers

PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 10: (L-R) Phillies Alumni and Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt stand on the field during a pre game ceremony before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 10, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-6. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA - AUGUST 10: (L-R) Phillies Alumni and Hall of Famers Jim Bunning, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt stand on the field during a pre game ceremony before a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 10, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies won 7-6. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA – July 15: The Philadelphia Phillies Pedro Martinez holds up his jersey after joining the team on July 15, 2009 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA – July 15: The Philadelphia Phillies Pedro Martinez holds up his jersey after joining the team on July 15, 2009 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /

Pedro Martinez

Likely Perez and Morgan, Pedro Martinez was past his prime when he joined the Phillies midway through the 2009 season. Signing with the reigning World Champions in July, Martinez brought the poise and dominance Philadelphia’s rotation needed.

Entering the 2009 season Philadelphia was riding the wave of Cole Hamels and the experience of Jamie Moyer in the rotation. Hamels fell flat early in 2009, free agent Chan Ho Park was a wash, and Brett Myers struggled.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. needed a sparkplug, so he signed the future Hall of Famer Martinez then traded for Cy Young winner Cliff Lee two weeks later.

With three Cy Youngs, five ERA titles, eight All-Star selections, and a Triple Crown, Martinez helped stabilize the rotation along with Lee and rookie J.A. Happ.

Martinez won five of his first seven starts and shutout the Mets in eight innings on national television on Sept. 13 for his 219th and final regular season win.

Pedro made his 2009 playoff debut in the NLCS against Los Angeles where he spun seven innings of two-hit shutout beauty. Unfortunately, the offense could only muster one run off former Phillie Vicente Padilla and the beleaguered Chan Ho Park gave up two runs in the eighth (assisted by a rare Chase Utley throwing error) to lose game two.

The Phillies would give Pedro the ball in games two and four of the World Series against his old foes in New York. In game two Martinez went six innings giving up six hits and three runs off home runs by Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui. He took the loss in a game where the Phillies only run came courtesy of a Matt Stairs RBI single.

After staving off elimination in game five thanks to two Chase Utley home runs, Martinez took the ball in game six back in Yankee Stadium. He’d give up four RBI to Matsui, one a home run and the other a two-run double, in four innings. Game six would be the last time Martinez donned a major league jersey, retiring that offseason as one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, unfortunately, unable to leave the game on top.

Martinez was elected with 91.1 percent of the Hall of Fame vote his first year on the ballot, and has the 13th most strikeouts in baseball history.

Despite his Phillies career being shortlived, the team likely wouldn’t have reached their second-consecutive World Series without him.

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