Pedro Martínez

Starting pitcher · Mets 2005–2008

The part fans remember

What the numbers leave out.

Pedro did not have a long Mets run, but his presence gave the club an ace who could make a lineup look helpless. His command, changeup, and fearless personality made him one of the most recognizable stars of Shea’s final years.

Martínez arrived before the 2005 season with the reputation of being the best pitcher in baseball. The Mets were trying to become relevant again, and signing him announced that the club was ready to spend on stars rather than simply patch holes. His changeup still looked unfair, his fastball moved, and every start carried the confidence of a pitcher who expected to control the game.

He won 15 games in his first season and helped stabilize a rotation that had been missing an ace. The 2006 club won the division, but Pedro’s body began to betray him. Hip and calf problems limited his innings, and a torn rotator cuff ended his 2007 season after only a handful of starts. The Mets reached the edge of October without the full version of their biggest pitching investment.

His return in 2008 was one of the better emotional moments of the late Shea era. Martínez could not stay healthy enough to become the long-term ace fans imagined, but he gave the Mets leadership, preparation, and a reminder of what elite pitching looked like. The story is shorter than it should have been, which is exactly why the best nights remain so easy to remember.

The honest version

The best stretch

Martínez’s 2005–07 Mets peak was shortened, not ordinary. In 2005 he gave the club 15 wins, a low-ERA ace, and the feeling that the rotation finally had a pitcher other teams feared. His changeup remained one of baseball’s great weapons because hitters could recognize it and still fail to square it up.

The part that got messy

The problem was health. A hip issue limited him in 2006, and the rotator cuff injury that followed removed the best version of him from the 2007 pennant chase. The Mets reached the edge of October with a rotation that was never as strong as its Opening Day plan. Pedro’s absence was not the only reason for the collapse, but it was one of the clearest missing pieces.

Why fans still care

His return in 2008 was about more than innings. It gave Shea a final glimpse of the pitcher who had made hitters look foolish in Boston and New York. Martínez did not stay long enough to become a franchise monument, but his arrival signaled ambition and his best starts helped create the 2006 Mets’ belief.

Signature Mets moment
Won 15 games and struck out 208 hitters in his first Mets season.

The short list

The stuff worth remembering.

012006 All-Star
02National Baseball Hall of Famer
03One of the greatest pitchers of his generation