Whose your daddy? Pedro Martinez named 2nd best all-time Latin pitcher, Pedro Martinez el segundo lanzador Latino de todo tiempo

So, apparently this is Hispanic Heritage Month.  And in a salute to this, MLB.com conducted a poll of the greatest Latino pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball.  Only retired pitchers were considered.  They have been announcing one of the top five each day.

Thus far, they have announced Fernando Valenzuela (Mexico), Dennis Martinez (Nicaragua), and Luis Tiant (Cuba).  And then today they released the number two greatest Latin pitcher of all-time, and the honoree is Pedro Martinez.

It is no secret, Pedro is one of the reasons that the Dominican Baseball Guy came into being.  The Dominican Baseball Guy saw him perform in his prime.  He is probably the best combination of performance and entertainment that the Dominican Baseball Guy has seen in any ball player.  No need to dicuss stats with Pedro, but he led his league in Ks three times, ERA five times, and wins once.

Peter Gammons says:

"He was the most dominating pitcher of all time in a span of seven years and the most exciting player I have ever seen." 

And the Dominican Baseball Guy heard Dan Patrick saying today on his radio show today that Pedro's 1999 season could be put up with the bext seasons of any pitcher of all-time, and that Pedro should have won the MVP along with the Cy Young that year.

Pedro is so revered among baseball fans that his picture was put on permanent display in the Smithsonian National Picture Gallery.  In the experience of the Dominican Baseball Guy, Pedro is probably the most popular Dominican player in his home country (current or retired) at the moment.  And that is saying a lot.

So, it is a well deserved honor that he was named the second greatest Latin MLB pitcher of all-time.  The Dominican Baseball Guy has a pretty good idea as to who the number one all-time Latin pitcher will be.  Think San Francisco Giants and Dominican.

Pedro is from Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic.

Pedro Martinez having fun with the Mets, by UCInternational

Potrait of Pedro Martinez to be shown at Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

A portrait of Pedro Martinez, untitled "El Orgullo y la Determinacion," was unveiled Friday at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.  The title is translated as "the pride and the determination" and features Martinez in his Dominican Republic national team uniform.

Peter Gammons was on hand and put out a great article about Pedro as a player, and his work throughout the Dominican Republic and in his hometown of Manoguayabo.  Gammons says:

"He was the most dominating pitcher of all time in a span of seven years and the most exciting player I have ever seen." 

Incredible praise coming from Gammons, who seemingly has more baseball knowledge than anyone the Dominican Baseball Guy has ever seen.  Gammons goes on to talk about all Pedro's work in his hometown.  Martinez has built churches, and donated a lot of money for children and elderly care.  His latest project is the Pedro Youth Academy and Ballpark in his hometown, of which he repeated the following purpose statement several times:

"I want children in the Dominican to have the educational opportunities that people in the United States are afforded, so someday college teams from the Dominican Republic can play against the great colleges and universities in the United States. In the end, education means opportunity."

This is the most poignant statement the Dominican Baseball Guy has ever heard in regards to the problems of Dominican prospects.  Many people say that prospects are exploited by big league teams, and that they miss out on educational opportunities, but the fact is there are few educational opportunities available in the Dominican Republic.  It seems that Pedro Martinez realizes this and is making education the forefront of his academy.

Even the President of the Dominican Republic took notice of this event, as he often does with baseball related matters.  President Leonel Fernandez released the following staement:

“It’s a pride for the Dominican nation and government, and for baseball fans, whose career will be preserved for the posterity of present and future generations for his  masterful performance in the sport, but mostly for the actions he conducts in benefit of the children and youngsters to orient them toward becoming exemplary beings.”

The Dominican Baseball Guy agrees with Peter Gammons and sees Pedro as the greatest and most exciting pitcher ever.  There is no other pitcher of which the Dominican Baseball Guy would want to tune in a game.

Pedro Martinez with the Mets, by Bryce Edwards on Flickr