Famous Baseball Players
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Baseball Players
Pedro Martínez
Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971 in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic) is a baseball pitcher who plays for the New York Mets. He has won three Cy Young Awards and is considered to be one of the top pitchers in the history of baseball. In April 2006, Martínez gained his 200th career win (against 84 losses, the highest winning percentage for any 200-game winner).
Martínez is unusual for a power pitcher as he is listed as 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 170 pounds (77 kg), small by modern-day standards and indeed, he is believed to be somewhat shorter and lighter than his official height and weight.[1] Whitey Ford is currently the only post-World War II era pitcher in the Baseball Hall of Fame to have stood under 6 feet tall.
Martinez is also atypical in that he has many "out" pitches upon which he can rely. His fastball, breaking curveball and circle changeup are all well above average; combined with his historically excellent control, they proved to be an overpowering package. Martínez throws from a low three-quarter position that hides the ball very well from batters, who have remarked on the difficulty of picking up Martínez's delivery. Throughout his career, his arm angle has dropped increasingly lower; he presently throws from the "low 3/4" slot.
Earlier in his career, his fastball was consistently clocked in the 95 mph (153 km/h) range; used in combination with his devastating changeup and occasionally mixing in his excellent curveball, he was as dominant a pitcher as the game has ever seen. In recent years, as injuries have taken their toll, Martinez has made the adjustment to rely more on guile than power. His fastball now is usually in the 88-89 mph (142-144 km/h) range, although he is still able to throw a mid-90s fastball when the need arises. He now uses his curveball, changeup, and a newly-developed cut fastball along with his fastball. With his command of the strike zone, he continues to be a top strikeout pitcher even though he does not throw as hard as he once did. Baseball historian Bill James describes Martinez as being exponentially more effective than his pitching peers due to his variety of pitches, arm angles, pitch speeds, pinpoint control, and numerous modes of deception.
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