Editing Pedro Martínez (section)

===Los Angeles Dodgers===
Martínez was originally signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1988. In his first season in the minors he was assigned to the [[Great Falls Dodgers]] where he worked with coach [[Guy Conti]] to develop a [[circle changeup]] which Conti had learned from [[Johnny Podres]]. Conti also worked with the young pitcher on his English and helped him assimilate to the United States; Martínez later described Conti as his "white daddy."<ref name="conti">{{cite news |last1=Vorkunov |first1=Mike |title=Meet Pedro Martinez's 'White Daddy' |url=https://www.nj.com/mets/2015/07/meet_pedro_martinezs_white_daddy_the_mets_coach_wh.html |access-date=20 December 2020 |work=[[NJ.com]] |date=24 July 2015 |language=en}}</ref> As a minor leaguer in the Dodgers farm system, he was a highly touted prospect although some talent evaluators took issue with his "poise" despite his having a "great fastball and circle-changeup."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Eddy |first1=Matt |title=MiLB Top 10 Prospects Flashback: 1992 Pacific Coast League |url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/milb-top-10-prospects-flashback-1992-pacific-coast-league/ |access-date=20 December 2020 |work=[[Baseball America]] |date=September 22, 2020}}</ref> He made his MLB debut on September 24, 1992, for the Dodgers against the [[Cincinnati Reds]], working two scoreless innings of relief. He made his first start for the Dodgers on September 30, taking the loss while giving up two runs in a 3–1 loss to the Reds.

Although Martínez's brother Ramón, then a star [[pitcher]] for the Dodgers, declared that his brother was an even better pitcher than he, the younger Martínez was thought by manager [[Tommy Lasorda]] too small to be an effective [[starting pitcher]] at the MLB level; Lasorda used Pedro Martínez almost exclusively as a relief pitcher.<ref>[http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Pedro/Pedro_bio.html Pedro Martinez Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009231122/http://jockbio.com/Bios/Pedro/Pedro_bio.html |date=October 9, 2010 }}. JockBio. Retrieved on December 21, 2013.</ref> Lasorda was not the first to question Martínez's stature and durability; in the minor leagues, the then-135-pound pitcher was threatened with a $500 fine if he was caught running. Martínez turned in a strong [[1993 Los Angeles Dodgers season|1993 season]] as the Dodgers' setup man, going 10–5 with a 2.61 ERA and 119 strikeouts, in 65 games; his 107 innings led all NL relievers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/play-index/season_finder.cgi?type=p#gotresults&as=result_pitcher&offset=0&sum=0&min_year_season=1993&max_year_season=1993&min_season=1&max_season=-1&min_age=0&max_age=99&is_rookie=&lg_ID=lgNL&lgAL_team=tmAny&lgNL_team=tmAny&lgFL_team=tmAny&lgAA_team=tmAny&lgPL_team=tmAny&lgUA_team=tmAny&lgNA_team=tmAny&isActive=either&isHOF=either&isAllstar=either&throws=any&games_started=60&role=reliever&games_relieved=50&minIpValS=100&minDecValS=14&qualifiersSeason=mingames&mingamesValS=39&qualifiersCareer=nomin&minIpValC=1000&minDecValC=100&mingamesValC=200&number_matched=1&orderby=IPouts&layout=full&c1criteria=&c1gtlt=eq&c1val=0&c2criteria=&c2gtlt=eq&c2val=0&c3criteria=&c3gtlt=eq&c3val=0&c4criteria=&c4gtlt=eq&c4val=0&c5criteria=&c5gtlt=eq&c5val=1.0&c6criteria=&location=pob&locationMatch=is&pob=&pod=&pcanada=&pusa=&ajax=1&submitter=1 |title=baseball-reference.com |date=2014}}</ref> With the Dodgers in need of a [[second baseman]] after a contract dispute with [[Jody Reed]], Martínez was traded to the [[Montreal Expos]] for [[Delino DeShields]] before the 1994 season.