{"id":37137,"date":"2025-02-26T14:04:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T14:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=37137"},"modified":"2025-02-26T14:04:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T14:04:32","slug":"no-ceiling-for-this-team-pedro-martinez-sees-a-changed-red-sox-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=37137","title":{"rendered":"\u2018No ceiling for this team\u2019: Pedro Martinez sees a changed Red Sox team"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014 As he stood in the sunshine at JetBlue Park on Tuesday, Pedro Martinez couldn\u2019t get over how much has changed.<\/p>\n

Hours earlier, he\u2019d bumped into D\u2019Angelo Ortiz outside the clubhouse. The Red Sox drafted David Ortiz\u2019s son last summer, but Martinez has known him his entire life.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will always be a baby to me, it doesn\u2019t matter how much he grows,\u201d Martinez told the Herald. \u201cI had him on my lap, in my arms. It\u2019s just amazing, it is an amazing feeling. But at the same time it\u2019s a quick reminder how much time flies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the fact that 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of Boston\u2019s first season without Martinez. At this point, it feels almost like a fever dream that he became a free agent after winning the \u201804 World Series and finished his first-ballot Hall of Fame career with the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. Of the five teams he pitched for during his 18-year career, the Red Sox have always been his true home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe,\u201d he said. \u201cI clicked with Boston from the first day I stepped in Fenway. \u2026 I was wondering, what should I expect out of Boston? But all Boston wanted was a competitor that was willing to do anything for the team, and they noticed it right away and they embraced it. So for me, that was clear waters. I loved Boston, Boston loved me. That\u2019s all I need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez has been thinking a lot about another moment long in the rearview mirror, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I watch the highlights from the All-Star game in \u201899, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Wow I can\u2019t believe so much time has gone by,\u2019 \u201d he said. \u201cI still look at it, and it\u2019s fresh in my mind, everything is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez famously started the \u201899 All-Star Game for Team AL and was its MVP. He struck out five of the six batters he faced \u2013 Diamondbacks\u2019 Matt Williams reached on an error by second baseman Roberto Alomar \u2013and made history in the first inning as the first pitcher to ever strike out the side in the Midsummer Classic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed to honor Boston, I needed to honor Boston,\u201d he said. \u201cI was representing Boston, Ted Williams, everything that I was doing had meaning for us. And I wanted to do it in the best way possible, and thanks to God everything came out the way it should.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez is among the legions campaigning for Fenway to host another All-Star Game in the coming years. Atlanta is hosting this season, followed by Philadelphia in honor of the 250th anniversary of 1776. Subsequent seasons are up for grabs, though it would be fitting for the Midsummer Classic to return in 2029 for the 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we can come up with a special one,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can come up with something really good, because that \u201899, I\u2019ve never seen another All-Star Game like that one. Especially because we had the All-Century Team around the infield. It was amazing, I was more glued into watching the All-Century Team than I was into what I needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another change in the Red Sox universe is less bittersweet. The energy at Fenway South is pleasantly familiar for the Hall of Fame pitcher who led Boston on four playoff runs during his seven seasons with the club. Like many members of the Red Sox organization, he feels the vibes are good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re gonna be really intriguing this year,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different team. \u2026 The amount of talent we have in the pitching staff, in the infield and the outfield is off the chain. No ceiling for this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook how close they were (last year),\u201d he said. \u201cAnd our defense was horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet for this Red Sox team to truly be different, they must overcome an even bigger obstacle than defense.<\/p>\n

Health.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this team is healthy, this team is gonna be in the postseason,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI think this team has a legit opportunity to be in the postseason, and Boston should be excited about this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can play baseball with any team, but I think someone is going to have to stumble in order for us to get there,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to play our (expletives) off, but this team can do it. If we are healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez didn\u2019t want to commit to specific predictions so early in the spring training, but he\u2019s confident the Red Sox are closing the gap with the Yankees, especially with Walker Buehler on the team. He\u2019s excited to see what Buehler, who closed out the World Series against the Yankees last fall, adds to the rivalry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a fan of him, and him a fan of me,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cHe\u2019s gonna go to New York and they\u2019re gonna remember that he was the one that shot them down. He\u2019s gonna be intimidating, he\u2019s gonna be booed, and he\u2019s gonna be hated by the Yankees because of what he did. Same thing happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a long time since Yankees fans could taunt Martinez with \u201cWho\u2019s your daddy?\u201d chants. Over the two decades since October \u201804, he\u2019s joyfully flipped the script. \u201cWho\u2019s your daddy now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez is ready for the Red Sox to enter a new era of greatness. And with two words, he officially passed the torch to Buehler.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew daddy!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FORT MYERS, Fla. \u2014 As he stood in the sunshine at JetBlue Park on Tuesday, Pedro Martinez couldn\u2019t get over how much has changed. 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