Red Sox Will Retire Pedro Martinez’s Number on July 28
Pedro Martinez Photo via Andrew Malone on Flickr/Creative Commons
The Boston Red Sox announced Monday they will retire the number of the flame-throwing, Don Zimmer-chucking, Yoda-loving, Karim Garcia-dissing, three-time Cy Young-winning, one-of-a-kind Dominican phenom known as Pedro Martinez.
Though no one has donned No. 45 since Martinez left town in 2004, the Sox will make it official July 28, in a pregame ceremony before a tilt against the Chicago White Sox, with likely all the pomp and circumstance to be expected from a Dr. Charles Steinberg production.
“To be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame upon his first year of eligibility speaks volumes regarding Pedro’s outstanding career, and is a testament to the respect and admiration so many in baseball have for him,” Red Sox owner John Henry said in a statement.
Martinez will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame the same week, after garnering enough votes in his first year of eligibility. With his number hung in right field, Martinez will join the ranks of Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Johnny Pesky, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, and Jackie Robinson. The Sox last retired Rice’s number in 2008.
