Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Days before Hall of Fame induction Pedro Martinez visits Mariano Rivera Celebrity Golf Classic at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor
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7/20/15, "Pedro Martinez recalls Yankees-Red Sox rivalry with Mariano Rivera ahead of HOF induction," NY Daily News, Christian Red
"Less than a week before he takes his place alongside the baseball greats at Cooperstown, Pedro Martinez appears to have the same ice in his veins that he demonstrated atop a pitcher's mound, mowing down batters and building his Hall of Fame resume.
"To be honest, I don't feel nervous. I feel pretty comfortable. I don't have a speech. I actually drafted some names and some stuff that I would like to mention. That's pretty much it," Martinez, the former Red Sox and Mets ace, told the Daily News Monday.
The Dominican righthander, who will be enshrined in the Hall this weekend, paid a visit to his good friend Mariano Rivera prior to Martinez's journey to Cooperstown.
"I'm extremely happy to be able to help. I love Mariano. I love his character. I love his heart more than anything. Mariano is a better human being than he was a closer. I've always been a fanatic the way he goes about his life, his charity," said Martinez, who participated in Rivera's Celebrity Golf Classic at the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor.
Rivera said that his friendship with Martinez goes way back (they share the same agent), despite playing on the opposite sides of baseball's storied New York-Boston rivalry.
"We always played against each other, but beyond that, we're still friends. That doesn't mean anything. He had to do his job. I had to do my job," said Rivera. "At the end, we all help each other." Rivera added that although he won't be present for Martinez's induction ceremony - "It's Sunday? I'm in church." - he will be "praying for him because he has earned it."
"It's amazing to have my friend going to the Hall of Fame. Well-deserved," said Rivera.
Former Yankee manager Joe Torre, who was also on hand at Rivera's event Monday and who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer, said his advice to Martinez was to "be nervous."
"The one thing that always sort of got me back on track last year was the fact that this is the only time you're going to do this," said Torre. "I think that's what made it more nerve-wrecking for me, the fact that you didn't want to say, 'I'll just settle for this.' You don't settle. It is a once-in-a-lifetime situation and it takes a lifetime to earn what this next weekend means for him."
Of those glory days circa 2003-04, when Martinez, Rivera and Torre were in the thick of the rivalry, and the tensions, plunkings and brawls between the Bombers and Sox were at their peak, Martinez says he longs for that era. But he was quick to add that "nothing needs to be changed" now."...
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7/20/15, "Pedro Martinez recalls Yankees-Red Sox rivalry with Mariano Rivera ahead of HOF induction," NY Daily News, Christian Red
"Less than a week before he takes his place alongside the baseball greats at Cooperstown, Pedro Martinez appears to have the same ice in his veins that he demonstrated atop a pitcher's mound, mowing down batters and building his Hall of Fame resume.
"To be honest, I don't feel nervous. I feel pretty comfortable. I don't have a speech. I actually drafted some names and some stuff that I would like to mention. That's pretty much it," Martinez, the former Red Sox and Mets ace, told the Daily News Monday.
The Dominican righthander, who will be enshrined in the Hall this weekend, paid a visit to his good friend Mariano Rivera prior to Martinez's journey to Cooperstown.
"I'm extremely happy to be able to help. I love Mariano. I love his character. I love his heart more than anything. Mariano is a better human being than he was a closer. I've always been a fanatic the way he goes about his life, his charity," said Martinez, who participated in Rivera's Celebrity Golf Classic at the Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor.
Rivera said that his friendship with Martinez goes way back (they share the same agent), despite playing on the opposite sides of baseball's storied New York-Boston rivalry.
"We always played against each other, but beyond that, we're still friends. That doesn't mean anything. He had to do his job. I had to do my job," said Rivera. "At the end, we all help each other." Rivera added that although he won't be present for Martinez's induction ceremony - "It's Sunday? I'm in church." - he will be "praying for him because he has earned it."
"It's amazing to have my friend going to the Hall of Fame. Well-deserved," said Rivera.
Former Yankee manager Joe Torre, who was also on hand at Rivera's event Monday and who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer, said his advice to Martinez was to "be nervous."
"The one thing that always sort of got me back on track last year was the fact that this is the only time you're going to do this," said Torre. "I think that's what made it more nerve-wrecking for me, the fact that you didn't want to say, 'I'll just settle for this.' You don't settle. It is a once-in-a-lifetime situation and it takes a lifetime to earn what this next weekend means for him."
Of those glory days circa 2003-04, when Martinez, Rivera and Torre were in the thick of the rivalry, and the tensions, plunkings and brawls between the Bombers and Sox were at their peak, Martinez says he longs for that era. But he was quick to add that "nothing needs to be changed" now."...
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Labels: Mariano Rivera Celebrity Golf Classic held at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor
