Pedro, of great impact for David Ortiz

David Ortiz had a feeling that Tuesday would be one of the most special days of his life.

When the former slugger from Quisquey began to put together the list of guests who would go to his home in the Dominican Republic, to accompany him to await the call to the Hall of Fame, the first person he thought of was Pedro Martínez.

When the results came in, Ortiz joined his good friend and mentor, Martinez, with the most prestigious label there can be in Cooperstown, by become Hall of Fame in your first year of eligibility.

Ortiz knows his career would not have taken him to Cooperstown had it not been for Martinez’s words of encouragement.

“He knew what I was capable of,” Ortiz said. “He kept telling me, he kept whispering it in my ear. ‘Hey, keep working, stay in shape, because the time is coming and you don’t want to let it go.

By 2002, Martinez had forged his own legend, when the Twins made the decision to release Ortiz. Pedro had already noticed Ortiz long before they were teammates, after coinciding during several campaign breaks in his country.

Ortiz was receiving little interest in the market. At one point during that period, Martinez ran into Ortiz at a restaurant in the Dominican and was shocked to learn that his friend was still out of a job. Martinez spoke with Larry Lucchino, the then president/CEO of the Red Sox, to talk about it. Lucchino passed the information on to GG Theo Epstein and the rest is history.

Shortly after, Ortiz signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Red Sox. There were other deals with Boston later, for “Big Papi” to play in the city for 14 seasons and help lift three World Series trophies.

“I do not think so. Without Pedro here, this would not have happened,” Ortiz said of his induction into the Hall of Fame. “Pedro has been a big brother to me, how he pushed me in different ways. Pedro brings a lot of value as a teammate, as a friend and representing an organization. Look, Pedro is the complete package. I was very lucky and blessed by God to have someone like him when my career needed him most. Without a doubt, he was the first one I invited to be a part of this today.”

Although Martinez and Ortiz were only teammates on the Red Sox for two seasons, they made the most of their time together.

In 2003, Boston battled through a memorable American League Championship Series against the Yankees, losing heartbreakingly in Game 7.

A year later, Ortiz, Martinez and the Red Sox enjoyed sweet revenge, becoming the first team in history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in a postseason series, this time beating the Yankees in seven games. on his way to winning the World Series.

Although Martinez left for the Mets in free agency after that 2004 season and later pitched for the Phillies, Ortiz led the Red Sox to two more championships.

But Martinez was never far from his mind, then or now.

And with Ortiz getting ready for the big celebration on July 24 at 1:30 pm ET in Cooperstown, he will lean on the person who entered the Hall of Fame seven years ago.

“They know that I have Pedro by my side at all times, so we will have some conversations around Cooperstown,” Ortiz said. “He is the one with the experience. He’s going to have to guide me the same way he once did on the Red Sox. You will have to teach me everything. But Pedro is an older brother to me and he talked to him every day, so that will be easy.”