Pedro: The Inspiring Baseball Memoir of an Eight-Time All-Star, Hall of Fame Pitcher, and World Series Champion

Many baseball enthusiasts do not realize that Pedro is the present day FOOL. I.e., the fool was the smartest person in the kingdom. However, he spoke in rhyme, so they thought he was flippant. Although Pedro does not speak in rhyme, he is a genius when it comes to pitching and understanding it. Yet, he is also the light-hearted manchild who can clown and bring a smile to all fans with his charm and enthusiasm for the game. Pedro is special and underappreciated. Likewise, I believe that this book is similar. It is written well and portraits Pedro in a fair and unbiased light as the frollicking genius that he is. An enjoyable and light read!

A complicated package, this man named Pedro Martinez. He's part great athlete, part artist, part personality, part angry young man. There's no male equivalent for the word diva, but that would be Pedro - a brilliant talent who always had a little extra baggage surrounding him. He just pitched for a living and instead of singing at the Metropolitan Opera. The various aspects of Martinez's personality are very much on display in his autobiography, "Pedro." That's what makes the book so interesting. It's hard to look away, even in retirement. Pedro came out of the Dominican Republic to play baseball, following in the footsteps of brother Ramon. He was the little brother in age as well as size, and always was a little underestimated by scouts along the way. You can understand where that first chip on the shoulder came from. However, as one scout put it, he had a heart as big as a lion, and that gave him the chance to shine at the sport's highest level. That's not to say that Pedro ever forgot a slight. This book is evidence of that. He felt he didn't get a fair shot with the Dodgers, who traded him to the Expos for a player (Delino DeShields) whose career fell apart in no time at all. The deal is considered one of the worst in Dodger history. Martinez got a chance to be a starter in Montreal, and thrived. By 1997, Martinez was the National League Cy Young winner (18-6 record, 1.74 ERA), and it was obvious to everyone that the financially struggling Expos couldn't afford to keep him. Pedro went off to Boston in a trade at that point, but he wasn't happy about it. Martinez wanted to cash in on his status as an elite pitcher. Then the Red Sox offered to make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball, and Pedro didn't need to go anywhere. Instead, he put together a couple of the greatest seasons in pitching history. Martinez was beyond brilliant in 1999 and 2000; he didn't play baseball, he put on performances. All of that was done while he was spending some time ignoring and/or hating his pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan, which is at best unusual. Martinez always found a way to fuel his emotions. Get booed in Boston because of a rare poor outing? He wasn't going to do the fans any favors after that. Opposing players do something wrong in Pedro's eyes? Here comes a fastball at your back, pal. Indeed, he was involved in a lot of incidents over the years, and Pedro seems to remember every detail. Martinez's best-known incident might have been in the time in the 2003 playoffs when Yankees coach Don Zimmer came charging after him in a brawl between the teams, and Martinez gave him a little push - leading to the sight of a 72-year-old man tumbling to the ground. No one looked too good at that moment. Martinez also had stretches where he became sick of the media for one reason or another and stopped talking to reporters. Those Yankee-Red Sox rivalries were overheated times all the way around, and Pedro's reaction here is at least understandable. Martinez, naturally, reviews the loss to the Yankees in Game Seven in 2003 - taking the blame instead of passing it to manager Grady Little for leaving him in too long - and revels in the World Series championship Boston won a year later. By then, Martinez's skills had started to diminish, thanks in part to injuries. He wasn't the biggest of men, and he put a lot of abuse on that body over the years. Pedro went to the Mets as a free agent, where he eventually broke down physically. Martinez at least got to leave baseball from a big stage, as he pitched his final game in the 2009 World Series in Yankee Stadium. He's in the Hall of Fame. This book works quite well because Martinez is quite honest in his recap of his life to date. It's sort of like him throwing a fastball in his prime - here it is, see if you are good enough to handle it. English may have been a second language for Pedro, but he comes across very well and articulate here. Co-author Michael Silverman also interviewed several people from Pedro's life, and their quotes provide some good perspective about what was going on at a specific time. By the way, there are a few typos of names along the way; let's hope they are fixed for the paperback edition. Your opinion of Pedro Martinez after reading "Pedro" probably won't change much. The talent was overwhelming, the personality was never boring. All he asks that you accept him on his terms, and that seems like a fair bargain.

That said, I had 3 issues with it. 1) I would have liked to read about the Baltimore game after his suspension in 2000 - 15 ks, 2 hits, complete game shutout - I was there! 2) I wish he would have named the double a city from his Phillies rehab.... Reading, Pennsylvania.... I was there and it's my hometown 3) I could have read 500 more pages on Pedro. I think we'd be great friends. Best baseball pitcher I've seen throw in my 43years and an awesome humanitarian as well as funny dude.

What makes someone excel at the highest level of competition? Read this book and appreciate a great athlete who got the most out of his talent far from his original homeland in the Dominican Republic. This is not great literature. However, it is worth reading and having young athletes read. Someone once wrote (not Pedro) that many American kids "are born on third base and thought they hit a triple". This book talks about how one person motivated himself to reach the Hall of Fame without having any advantages except a strong will, strong family ties, intelligence and "a chance".

"Pedro" is an enjoyable read. The subtext reveals how he frequently ticked people off with a no apologies approach to baseball and life. Somewhat of the Bob Gibson school of pitching - throw high and tight if the batter is crowding the plate - hit them if necessary - he reveals a lot that Red Sox and Expo fans may know but as a general baseball fan, I didn't know. There are holes in the story; for instance there is a lead-in to the Red Sox comeback after being down 0-3 to the Yankees in 2004 but then almost no significant discussion of the 4 game comeback. He has obvious principles. As a relatively small man, of all the players who would have benefited from steroid use, he would have. His discussion of the subject is direct and enlightening and no punches are pulled. As a baseball fan I enjoyed the book. I think Red Sox fans would love it.

Pretty good for an "as told to" sports biography. I went to Pedro's induction in Cooperstown and saw his number retired at Fenway. Having read his autobiography beforehand, it added richness to both experiences. I enjoyed so much seeing how proud Pedro's Dominican contingent were. Fans will especially enjoy the parts when Pedro was younger, just coming up, for instance. For some reason, the part about how he ran to make his legs strong really sticks in my mind. (He actually had to sneak out of the training compound at night to get his running in because the team told him not to run so much because he was such a slender kid.) Anyone who thinks stars are just born need to read this, because Pedro's success was regarded as a long shot from the beginning--to everyone except HIM! I also learned a lot about his relationship with his family, especially his brother Ramon. Boston fans will enjoy comparing this to other biographies of local overachievers. "Drive" by Larry Bird comes to mind. Remember, Pedro never threw at batter's heads--but he DID pitch inside!

Perfect

Pedro is one of the best pitcher of his time. Thank you for the great memories in Boston. He was one of the best. Red Sox should've kept him in Boston but they was being cheap

Buen libro. Los inicios de carrera son bien descritos y con muchos detalles desconocidos, al menos para mi. Me decepcionó un poco el final precisamente por la falta de detalles; no hay tantos detalles de cuando ya está en las grandes ligas a como cuando estaba en las ligas menores, pero en general muy buena lectura.

Interesting career

I love the Red Sox and don't doubt that Pedro was a great, if not the best pitcher in Boston's history. However after reading this book it kind of put me off him a bit. It's great to hear him talk about traveling in the minors and of course breaking the curse. It's just that he comes off as a bit of a spoilt kid during his playing career. Lots of "why should I have to do what everyone else does, I'm Pedro". I'm glad I read it but couldn't give it 5 stars

Excellent book from Pedro's career as a pitcher....not too long with the boring stuff.... Maybe not enough details as a tell all on some parts of his career but still holds up with his view towards his teammates and coaches........

Received product. Everything is fine