Pedro Martinez will never have to buy a meal in New England for the rest of his life and you’d be hard-pressed to find a baseball fan in the region who doesn’t look upon him as a kind of God and yesterday during an interview with WEEI he only gave fans another reason to adore him when he said this:
I’m a Bostonian. I consider myself a Bostonian. I believe my best years, my most important years, were in Boston. Part of my heart is in Boston. The other part is with my family and my own interests. I don’t have anything bad to say about my years in Boston. Honestly speaking, which is not very often that you’ll have an All-Star speaking honestly, I love Boston. I miss Boston. I miss the fans. I love the fans. I loved living in Boston. I’m actually thinking about selling my house in New York and buying back in Boston to actually go back.
In Boston for a couple of charity events over this weekend, Pedro’s comments weren’t strictly about how much he loves the area but he made it clear that Boston will always be a special place for him. Â He came back to the city this week to promote two Jimmy Fund charity events where he’ll be headlining.
Tickets seem to still be available for Friday night’s “An Intimate Evening with Pedro Martinez and Friends” at the Liberty Hotel. Â (In this case, Pedro’s “friends” include former Red Sox General Manager and current Baltimore Orioles GM Dan Duquette.) Â Pedro will also be attending the annual “New Stars for Young Stars” event on Saturday (which is sold out) where he’ll appear with Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and outfielder Ryan Kalish along with a handful of Red Sox prospects including 1st round draft pick Kolbrin Vitek.
At a time when many Red Sox fans are feeling less than enthusiastic about the upcoming season, Pedro Martinez reminds fans of what it was like to enjoy baseball and believe in something that didn’t seem possible. Â The timing to bring him to Boston after the terrible way the 2011 season ended is inspired.
(Originally published on Examiner.com)