Pedro Martinez rags to richest...true story

Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic -- An hour after sunset, Pedro Martinez is walking along the main street of his neighborhood, a group of barefoot children in threadbare clothing following him, moonlight casting a blue glow.

Calle San Miguel, once a treacherous combination of dirt, rocks and potholes, was paved only two years ago. These days, people walk without fear of losing shoes in the mud, although they still have to avoid the garbage in the gutters. Now they easily can make it to the Parroquia Inmaculada Concepcion de Maria, a simple teal church with 17 rows of movable pews.

Martinez was born here 33 years ago, grew up here and still lives on the land where his first home stood. All around him, he sees the world of his childhood transformed. He raises his chest and sighs, proud of what he has accomplished here since he became a major-league pitcher in 1992. He helped pave the road and build the church, and he paid for homes for his family and friends.

On this night, he stops by the school he helped finance. The new three- story yellow building sits in the corner of a field recently bulldozed for his latest construction project.

"We call him our angel," Francisca de la Cruz, who once taught Martinez and is now the new school's director, said. "Without Pedro Martinez, we'd be in lots of trouble."

Baseball fans know Martinez as the Mets' newest stopper, a quirky personality and a merciless pitcher unafraid to aim a fastball under a hitter's chin. He is cliche-free, witty, insightful and, as often as not, controversial.

He once said that the Yankees should wake up Babe Ruth so he could drill him. During a brawl in the 2003 American League Championship Series, Martinez pushed Yankees coach Don Zimmer, then 72, to the ground, solidifying his position as a devil in the eyes of Yankees fans.

But here in his neighborhood, a half-hour drive from downtown Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, Martinez is no devil. He is more a patron saint.

Few bright lights here

Stores lining the road into town are rickety kiosks painted in pastels, pink, mint green, sea blue and neon. Signs cry out: Salon! (one on nearly every corner); Cervezas el Presidente! (Dominican-made beer); Colmado! (a small bodega).

Trumpet-heavy merengue music is blasting, often trumped, however, by the roar of motorbikes. The scent of gasoline lingers as those motorbikes zip by, sometimes carrying as many as five people. Some are taxis, a short ride costing about 37 cents.

On a lively Sunday, women stroll along Calle San Miguel with their hair in fat curlers. Men play dominoes while stray dogs nap under their tables. Youngsters practice baseball swings in the street.

Many houses have one room and dirt floors, some have no doors or windows. But others stand out. They are newly painted in muted colors and have windows and doors protected by white wrought-iron bars. Some have two stories and marble floors. Those houses carry Martinez's stamp.

"He built my house for me because he found out I was still renting," de la Cruz said, her eyes filling with tears. "And he built at least 30 or 40 other houses for people here. You can say that everything nice here is because of him."

When Martinez was young, everything was different. At 5, he was a featherweight, the fifth of six children born to Pablo Jaime Abreu and Leopoldina Martinez. His father worked odd jobs, his mother washed clothes for wealthier families.

Like most houses in Manoguayabo, theirs was built with palm wood and had dirt floors and a tin roof. Sheets separated the interior into rooms. The family slept on the floor, at least two to a mattress. The young Pedro Martinez -- inexplicably nicknamed Enyo by his older brother Ramon -- had a lot of friends. Elvira Trinidad remembers Martinez being "very bad but very original," once encouraging her to climb high into a mango tree, then laughing because he had put her in a spot where he could see her underwear.

He was a smart one, too

Trinidad said she always thought Martinez would be a doctor; he was that smart. Though he worked as a mechanic as a teenager, baseball was in his blood.

Like nearly every Dominican boy, Martinez's father played the game. His claim to island fame: He could pitch two games in a day.

The youngsters played ball using broomsticks and tree branches for bats and makeshift balls made of fruit, rolled-up socks and the heads of their sisters' dolls.

Eventually, Ramon Martinez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and began his 14-year major-league pitching career in 1988. Four years later, Pedro Martinez joined him on the Dodgers. And when Pedro left for the United States, he took his hometown with him.

"The whole village was on my shoulders, and I knew that," Martinez said, lifting his arms to the sky. "So when I went on the mound, I felt like a lion fighting for my food because I wasn't fighting for myself. I was fighting for everyone in Manoguayabo."

Though Martinez left Manoguayabo, he could have chosen to live anywhere, including one of the island's resort towns. He stayed in his hometown and improved it.

NY Time

Soon after signing a $75 million contract with Boston, Martinez began to build here. With help from Ramon, he acquired the land around his family's old home and built residences for his family members.

Then he built the church, used his island-hero influence to persuade the government to pave the main road, and bought the land where the school was raised.

Now nearly all his family members and friends -- hundreds, he says -- live in small houses abutting his property. A security gate separates them from the main road. Florida Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo recently moved into a large house in the ritzy section of Manoguayabo, but Martinez's house is near the end of Calle San Miguel, hidden behind a white concrete block wall topped with barbed wire.

The Martinez abode

When visitors arrive, one of his many workers slides open a hulking green gate to the driveway. Inside are two modest homes. One is a three-bedroom, single-story house where Martinez, who is single, lives alone; the other is a guest house.

Roosters walk the property. A sausage-shaped Doberman pinscher lounges near one of the two small pools. There are lime, hibiscus and mango trees, which Martinez used to climb, ones he hopes to "sit under in a hammock someday when I retire."

The most striking feature of his home is a covered terrace at the edge of a hill. There he holds parties for nearly everyone in the neighborhood, roasting a pig on a spit and serving typical Dominican food such as red beans and rice with meat.

"It's like he never left here," Eduardo Abreu Martinez, a lawyer, who is no relation, said. "During the All-Star break, he was pitching in the street here. No matter how rich he gets, he's still one of us."

Martinez's friends are his bodyguards, chauffeurs and public-relations people. He rewards them with homes, cars and gifts. But one person Martinez trusts is not Dominican: his agent, Fernando Cuza, is of Cuban descent.

"Winning the World Series is low on the things that make me happy," Martinez said. "What I really enjoy is giving back to the people here and giving them hope. I want them to use me now while I have this fame."

He grows quiet and looks at the sky. "At my mom's house on the farm, it gets so dark, you look at the stars and you feel like you can just reach out and grab them," he said. "I love her so much and I love this place so much, it hurts. I stay here because I need to find myself again after playing in the States. Here, it's me talking. It's my soul talking."

"I don't want to ever forget where I came from," he said.

No one around here is going to forget, either.
 

dulce

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Jan 1, 2002
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There was a very nice story about Pedro in the local newspaper here (Worcester, Ma.) on Sunday. Some things have changed since the article Mr_DR posted was written. He is now married. Shucks. The article I read was about the house he just bought in Ct. It showed him in his garden and talked about how he learned to love gardening from his Mother. He also talked about his hometown and how he can not wait to retire there.
He does not talk much about how much he gives back to his birthplace. That to me is a sign of a person giving from the heart and not for the glory of publicity.
I miss watching him play for Boston and the news updates about him
God Bless Pedro!
 

trina

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Jan 3, 2002
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dulce said:
There was a very nice story about Pedro in the local newspaper here (Worcester, Ma.) on Sunday. Some things have changed since the article Mr_DR posted was written. He is now married. Shucks. The article I read was about the house he just bought in Ct. It showed him in his garden and talked about how he learned to love gardening from his Mother. He also talked about his hometown and how he can not wait to retire there.
He does not talk much about how much he gives back to his birthplace. That to me is a sign of a person giving from the heart and not for the glory of publicity.
I miss watching him play for Boston and the news updates about him
God Bless Pedro!


Ditto, on everything dulce said. BTW, dulce, I read the same "gardening" story in the NY Times.

Mr_Dr, where are the original credits to this story? You cannot publish an article as such on DR1 without posting a link or credits.
 

M.A.R.

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Feb 18, 2006
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Steve Pindar said:
I'm sorry some of you seem upset that Pedro is married. Trust me - he is very, very happy. His wife is tremendous.

Yes there's some of us who are upset about him getting married. but I wish the best, he's taken oh well. Is his wife Dominican.
 

miguel

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Jul 2, 2003
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Nice guy!

Steve Pindar said:
I'm sorry some of you seem upset that Pedro is married. Trust me - he is very, very happy. His wife is tremendous.
Not a fan of his but he is known to be a very nice guy. The mother of a friend of mine, who lives in his neighborhood, have known him since he was a young kid and up to this day, he stops by her house for coffee and chitchat.

Btw, why would anybody be upset that he is married?.
 

M.A.R.

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Feb 18, 2006
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miguel said:
Not a fan of his but he is known to be a very nice guy. The mother of a friend of mine, who lives in his neighborhood, have known him since he was a young kid and up to this day, he stops by her house for coffee and chitchat.

Btw, why would anybody be upset that he is married?.

why be upset....I guess the single women had hopes....he's seems like a nice guy, a gentleman, caring.....rich, etc. un buen partido.
 

M.A.R.

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Feb 18, 2006
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Steve Pindar said:
M.A.R. - yes Pedro's wife is Dominican. She and her family are very good friends of my wife, myself and our family, and I can tell you that he is very happily married.


Oh that's so nice, thanks for the info.
Tell him I'm a met fan and we're proud of him, my son admires him and would like to be a baseballplayer.
 

dulce

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Jan 1, 2002
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Steve
I was joking when I said "shucks" Pedro is married. I am sure his wife is a lovely person. I think I am closer to his father's age. I think Pedro is a nice person with good values and his wife is lucky to have have him.
 

Mr_DR

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May 12, 2002
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trina said:
Ditto, on everything dulce said. BTW, dulce, I read the same "gardening" story in the NY Times.

Mr_Dr, where are the original credits to this story? You cannot publish an article as such on DR1 without posting a link or credits.
Trina this article was a NY Time article and I will post it for you as soon as my internet connection stop acting up.
 

deelt

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Mar 23, 2004
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The article is no longer available. But you can obtain it for a small fee of $3.95 :) It was a nice article.

For two hours on the days Pedro Mart?nez is scheduled to pitch at Shea Stadium, he is alone with his pale yellow daffodils, his purple petunias, his cotton-candy-colored hyacinths, the flowers that make his property look like a botanical garden. His brain is not calculating which pitch to throw....