Pedro Martinez is hoping to pitch a full season in 2010. But after sitting out for half a season before signing with the Phillies last year, Martinez said he isn’t sure he’ll be willing to wait around for a team to decide to sign him if the situation arises again.
“I would like to pitch the whole season, now that I feel completely healthy,” said the former Mets right-hander, in town last night for an appearance on HBO’s “Joe Buck Live.” “I’ll tell you what, though, it’s gonna be hard for me to wait that long, you know?”
After struggling in 2008, going 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts for the Mets, many thought Martinez was finished. But after signing with the Phillies and making his debut in August, the likely Hall of Famer went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in the regular season, then followed that with seven shutout innings in an NLCS start against the Los Angeles Dodgers before starting Game 2 and Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s gratifying, to be honest,” Martinez said of getting an opportunity to pitch with the Phillies. “I was very happy, very thankful … I enjoyed everything that happened. Everything that you see as a negative, it was positive for me. I was sitting at home, didn’t have a team, didn’t have a job, and imagined about the World Series. Did anybody think that could happen?
“I thought it could be possible, but I don’t think anyone else thought about it. I was the only one, deep inside of me … (I said) ‘I’m going to wait for the right chance, and the right team to come and get me.
“And they did.”
Martinez said he is only willing to pitch for a teams with a chance to win the World Series. He said though he was grateful to have the chance to pitch on the big stage again, he wasn’t concerned with trying to prove people wrong.
“No, not really,” he said. “I was looking to have fun, and to do what I do best, which is play baseball and enjoy the moment. And, to be honest, satisfy my dad’s wishes. His last wishes were that I went back to baseball.”