Pedro Martinez nearly joined the enemy and ended his storied MLB career in pinstripes. The former Boston Red Sox pitcher made a shocking admission during Monday's pre-game studio show for TNT Sports. Martinez revealed that he considered joining the New York Yankees in 2009.
"They did," Martinez said about the Yankees reaching out. "I almost went to the Yankees." After four seasons with the New York Mets, Martinez signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2009 campaign. The three-time Cy Young Award winner made three tune-up starts in the minor leagues before joining the major league club in August.
The Yankees had the same idea, but Martinez resisted his former rival's minor league contract offer. "The only problem I had with going to the Yankees at that point was that the GM, Brian Cashman, asked me to take three outings in the minor leagues," Martinez explained. "And then they were gonna guarantee me a big league contract, probably worth a lot more money than Philly.
And I said, 'Man, I'm not a minor leaguer.' "You sign me as a big league player. You give me a contract, I go to the minor leagues, I do whatever you ask me to do in the minor leagues, and then I come up. But I leave my house as a big leaguer.
Because I promised myself I would never go back to the minor leagues. And I never did." Martinez recorded a 3.63 ERA in nine starts for the Phillies. The eight-time All-Star pitched in two World Series losses to the Yankees, allowing seven combined runs in 10 innings.
Seeing Martinez on the Yankees would have been a jarring sight given their heated history. Martinez infamously sent 72-year-old bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground during a 2003 benches-clearing incident, and fans taunted the right-hander after he called the Yankees his "daddy" in September 2004. Martinez got payback by helping the Red Sox overcome a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees in the ALCS and win their first World Series since 1918.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
