Yankees great Graig Nettles wonders whether Pedro Martinez, Public Enemy No. 1 in The Bronx, would be right at home in the hot corner of the baseball world.
“Obviously he’s a good pitcher, but I don’t know if his personality would fit with what they have there in the clubhouse,” Nettles said. “It seems to me he knows when the camera’s on him. He knows when to put it on for the camera. Just from what it seems on TV, it’s all about Pedro and not about the team. The Yankees have never been that way.”
Nettles, like the rest of Yankee Nation, was infuriated at Martinez a year ago during the game in which he hurled charging Don Zimmer to the ground.
“I thought when he threw at Karim Garcia, it was a chicken-[bleep] move,” Nettles said. “What he did with Zimmer, he didn’t do anything wrong there. I just have a problem throwing behind a guy’s head.”
The sight of Martinez in pinstripes would startle Nettles. “It would just be weird having him pitch for the Yankees,” Nettles said. “It would be like [nemesis] Bill Lee joining us after the ’78 season.”
Nettles, however, can see where George Steinbrenner is coming from if he decides to become Pedro’s daddy. “I think it would be a coup for the Yankees to get him, to stick a needle in the Red Sox,” Nettles said.
Sparky Lyle opposes Pedro in pinstripes. “I think it’s a bad move,” the former closer said.
For two reasons. “If I was still playing, I wouldn’t want him on my team,” Lyle said. “I know he’s got a big mouth and says a lot of stuff that he’ll never admit he regrets. He just seems to do things that cause a lot of media reaction. That’s the last thing you need in New York.”
Lyle said the Yanks need a workhorse. “He’s gonna tax the bullpen,” Lyle said. “Is he still one of the top three-four pitchers in baseball? Absolutely. But his innings are down.”
Other former Yankees found the prospect of Pedro in pinstripes less unsettling. Goose Gossage, who said “The Bronx Zoo” Yankees would have swiftly and physically retaliated against Martinez for his treatment of Zimmer, sounded willing to forgive and forget. “Everybody is in dire straits when it comes to pitching,” Gossage said.
Gossage, who tussled with Cliff Johnson in the riotous Yankees clubhouse, said Martinez would change his ways and conform should he become a Yankee.
“Being around [Derek] Jeter and Alex [Rodriguez] and all the other good guys they do have in the Yankee clubhouse, I think it would just rub off,” Gossage said. “Pedro used to be the consummate professional. It seemed like when [Manny] Ramirez got over there, he started to get a little hot dog in him.”
Goosage said he can understand why Yankee Nation is repulsed by the thought of Pedro in pinstripes. “I would have liked to kick his butt personally when he threw one behind Garcia’s neck and then pointed in the dugout at Posada’s head. He needed a good butt-kicking at that time,” he said.
Ron Guidry said he has no doubt Martinez would help the Yankees’ vulnerable staff. “You gotta remember, Clemens came over from there, too,” the former Yankees captain said. “Did New York mistreat him because he played with Boston all those years? It might take him a while to get acclimated and have people accept him, but as soon as Clemens became a Yankee, it was different. It’s gonna be the same thing with Pedro.”
Yogi Berra had no problem with it, either. “What the heck?” Berra said. “I never batted against him.”
Could Martinez fit in with the Yankees? “I think he would. What the heck . . . he gets paid good. He oughta be happy.”
Zimmer, now a Devil Rays coach, was in no hurry to rush to judgment. “Ask the Yankees,” he said. “I’m not a Yankee. Ask the guys on the team how they like it. If it happens, I’ll answer it. I’m not even gonna get involved in it.”
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League of his own
Pedro Martinez has better average regular-season numbers against the rest of the major leagues than he does against the Yankees. Here’s a look at them:
Opponent G IP H R HR BB K W-L ERA BAA
vs. Yankees 28 6 2/3 5.4 2.5 0.6 1.9 8.6 10-10 3.24 .213
vs. Others 360 6 4.4 1.7 0.4 1.6 6.7 172-66 2.66 .208
(per game averages, except wins and losses)