Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez remembers his 2009 World Series run with the Phillies on the 11-year anniversary of his signing
Pedro Martinez was already Hall of Fame-bound before he signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies on this day, July 15, 11 years ago.
Across 17 seasons, from 1992 to 2008, the right-hander collected eight All-Star nods, three Cy Young Awards, five ERA titles, and, a 2004 World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox.
His career record stood at 214-99, with a sub-3.00 ERA (2.91), a near 1.000 WHIP ratio (1.051), a a SO9 mark of 10.1.
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Martinez didn’t have to sign with the Phillies as a 37-year-old. But, he decided to chase his second World Series ring in red pinstripes, and came real close to doing so. On Wednesday, the baseball legend reminisced the 2009 run on the 11-year anniversary of him signing in Philadelphia.
Martinez made nine regular season starts in 2009, going 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA, 1.254 WHIP and 37-8 strikeouts-to-walk ratio spanning 44 2/3 innings.
Advancing to the postseason, Martinez was not used in the NLDS series against the Colorado Rockies, but was excellent in his lone ALCS start against the Los Angeles Dodgers — tossing seven shutout innings while allowing just two hits and no walks.
Manager Charlie Manuel then turned to Martinez for two World Series starts opposite Joe Girardi‘s New York Yankees. Up in the series 1-0, Martinez yielded three runs across six innings in Game 2, including allowing two home runs, en route to a 3-1 loss and losing decision.
The Yankees also won the next two games, before the Phillies took game 5, setting up a series-deciding game 6. If Martinez could find a way to defeat the potent Yankees lineup, it would set up a deciding game 7. As we know how history played out, that was not the case.
“It was only half a season, but I still have a lot of love for my time with the Phillies,” Martinez said in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “I said it before, but if I could have one game back, it’d be my last one: Game 6, Phillies vs. Yankees, 2009 World Series.”
Pedro Martinez said he knew what to expect when he joined the #Phillies in middle of 2009 season, having played in Boston for the #Redsox. Throwing out first pitch today as part of celebrating 10-year anniversary of the NL champs. pic.twitter.com/ep5Kgl4tKu
— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) August 4, 2019
“Sick as a dog, but tried to pitch anyway… wanted to do something big for Philly. So if I could have one do-over, that’d be it.
During last summer’s 2009 National League champion reunion, Martinez said he had the swine flu (along with some of his teammates), as well as an an asthma attack; nonetheless, Martinez still battled through on baseball’s biggest stage.
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In what would be the last start of his career, Martinez lasted just four innings while allowing as many earned runs; the Yankees would go on to clinch their 27th World Series championship of all time.
Of all the players from the 2007-2011 Phillies playoff window, it is easy to forget that Martinez threw in 12 starts combined for the team in both the regular season and postseason.
Martinez is a Hall of Famer. Had his two losing decisions in the 2009 World Series been winning decisions instead, his legacy, in Philadelphia at least, would be on that much better.