Don Zimmer strongly denied saying something about Pedro Martinez’s mother during their part of an ugly Yankees-Red Sox brawl in 2003 at Fenway Park.
“He was trying to punch my mouth and told me a couple of bad words about my mom,” Martinez said before the Yankees’ 6-1 loss to the Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series last night at the Stadium, the first time he addressed the situation.
When told about Martinez saying Zimmer said something about his mother, Zimmer denied it.
“He is nuts,” Zimmer told The Post. “What’s he talking [about]. What the hell, it’s been so long ago. I went on national television the next day and apologized and I said Pedro had nothing to do with the fight, that it was my fault. I can’t say anything more. What else can I do? I am not going to kiss anybody’s [butt].”
Zimmer, who said he was pulling for the Yankees because of Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, gave Martinez his due as a pitcher.
“I know one thing, he can pitch when he is healthy,” Zimmer said of the Phillies’ Game 2 starter tonight. “You can’t take that away from him.”