Pedro Martinez joined two new clubs Thursday.
Not only did he join the Mets, who introduced him to a horde of reporters at Shea Stadium, he also entered that cabal of ex-Red Sox who’ve left Boston on bitter terms–Carlton Fisk, Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Mo Vaughn, Nomar Garciaparra. And now Martinez, too, is departing angry and, he says, misunderstood.
“After all the good things I did there, the treatment I got, I don’t think was right,” Martinez said in one of several shots at the Red Sox’s management. “Theo [Epstein] is younger than I am. He is too young to play with a player like me. [Larry] Lucchino and [John] Henry, they don’t know me that well. If you want to know about me, you have to ask my teammates.”
Martinez, 33, who signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Mets, turned down the Red Sox’s final offer, believed to be three years at $40.5 million, during the winter meetings last weekend in Anaheim. The move ended a seven-year love affair with Boston’s fans, and a frequently stormy relationship with the owner (Henry), president (Lucchino) and young general manager (Epstein) who took over in 2002.
“We regret but respect Pedro’s decision to sign with the Mets,” Henry said Thursday. “Let’s hope the two teams get a chance to face one another in the postseason at some point. Until that time, I’ll be rooting for him.”
Martinez, who was 117-37 in seven years with the Red Sox, including 50-17 the last three seasons, also fired a few salvos at Curt Schilling, the pitching hero who eclipsed him in the Boston galaxy in 2004. Schilling recently offered the opinion that Martinez frequently got preferential treatment.
In a New York radio interview, Martinez poked fun at Schilling’s appetite for attention.
“Schilling earned the respect he got in Boston, I don’t have anything bad to say about that,” Martinez said. “It didn’t bother me, the attention Schilling got. I actually don’t like so much attention. It seems like he does.”
After helping the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years, Martinez says he’s ready for a dual challenge in New York–altering the image of the Mets and convincing fans he’s not such a bad guy.
“I don’t know if I can ever win the fans of New York over,” Martinez said. “But I will try very hard.”