Editing Pedro Martínez (section)

==Pitching style==
Martínez's [[fastball|four-seam fastball]], power [[curveball]], [[Cut fastball|cutter]], [[Sinker (baseball)|sinker]], and [[circle changeup]] were all well above average; combined with his historically excellent control, they proved to be an overpowering package. Martínez threw from a low three-quarters position (nearly [[Sidearm (baseball)|sidearm]]) that hid the ball very well from batters, who have remarked on the difficulty of picking up Martínez's delivery. Additionally, Martínez threw three different types of fastballs - a straight high-velocity four-seam fastball he used to overpower hitters, a two-seamer that ran to his throwing arm side, and a cut fastball that ran away from his throwing arm side - each with the pinpoint control that defined him.

Early in his career, Martínez's fastball was consistently clocked in the 95–98&nbsp;mph range. Using it in combination with his devastating changeup and occasionally mixing in his curveball, he was as dominant a pitcher as the game has ever seen. ''[[Sports Illustrated]]''{{'}}s [[Joe Posnanski]] wrote, "There has never been a pitcher in baseball history—not [[Walter Johnson]], not [[Lefty Grove]], not [[Sandy Koufax]], not [[Tom Seaver]], not [[Roger Clemens]]—who was more overwhelming than the young Pedro."<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/09/09/nfl.mlb/2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912175056/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/09/09/nfl.mlb/2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2009|work=CNN|title=My NFL predictions, more (cont.)|date=September 9, 2009|access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref>

As injuries and the aging process took their toll, Martínez made the adjustment to rely more on finesse than power. His fastball settled into the 85–88&nbsp;mph range, although he was occasionally able to reach 90–91&nbsp;mph when the need arose. Martínez continued to use a curveball, a circle changeup, and an occasional slider. With his command of the strike zone, he remained an effective strikeout pitcher despite the drop in velocity. Baseball historian [[Bill James]] described Martínez as being substantially more effective than his pitching peers due to his variety of pitches, pitch speeds, pinpoint control, and numerous modes of deception.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.billjamesonline.com/pitcher_wave_patterns|title=Pitcher Wave Patterns|last=James|first=Bill|date=2015-05-19|website=billjamesonline.com|access-date=2018-02-01|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/pedro-martinez-best-of-all-time-boston-red-sox-memoir-062315|title=When Pedro Martinez was the best of all time|website=FOX Sports|access-date=2016-09-11}}</ref>