As he made the rounds at his foundation\u2019s 10th annual gala on Saturday night, Pedro Martinez was all smiles. The Red Sox legend celebrated the Pedro Martinez Foundation\u2019s work providing community programs focused on education, health and sports, as well as the foundation\u2019s ongoing efforts to build a new school in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n
But when asked for his thoughts about baseball\u2019s looming lockout and the uncertainty facing the sport, Martinez\u2019s expression grew serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m pissed,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cHonestly speaking, I\u2019m pissed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Baseball Hall of Famer knows better than most how damaging a protracted work stoppage can be. The last time Major League Baseball missed games due to a labor dispute was during the 1994 player strike, which began when Martinez was in the midst of his second full season as a big leaguer. The strike wound up wiping out the remainder of the season, including the World Series, and left a lasting rift with fans that took years to repair.<\/p>\n
Martinez said there\u2019s no reason why that needs to happen again, and he implored the owners and players to do everything they can to work out a deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel for the fans, and I know when it\u2019s good, and it\u2019s good, baseball is good right now,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cSo stop the crap around and get something done and don\u2019t lock out baseball for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Hall](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/AP22205745139008.jpg\")
Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez watches as former Boston Red Sox teammate and inductee David Ortiz, speaks during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Sunday, July 24, 2022, in Cooperstown, N.Y. (AP Photo\/John Minchillo)<\/p>\n
The ongoing dispute, like the 1994 one that preceded it, is largely centered on MLB\u2019s desire to implement a salary cap. The owners claim a cap will help close the gap between the sport\u2019s high-revenue and low-revenue clubs, while players are vehemently opposed because they believe a cap will suppress salaries and restrict what has traditionally been a free market.<\/p>\n
Neither side is likely to budge until games and money are on the line, and to this point the players have remained steadfast in their opposition to a cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019re united,\u201d said Corey Kluber, a two-time Cy Young Award winner and former Red Sox pitcher who was in attendance at the gala. \u201cI think that\u2019s obviously something that\u2019s made our union unique from its beginning up to this point is the solidarity amongst players and fighting for what we believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez\u2019s personal experience with the 1994 was uniquely challenging. He said he missed out on salary arbitration by one day and wound up going three years without a raise early in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the commissioner can see me and hear and the players association hears what I have to say. I might be insignificant, but I lived it before. I experienced that before,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThe commissioner wasn\u2019t there when I lived the punishment that it took to play three years without one cent raised in my salary, and all I have to settle was for $20,000 that we could share out of the money that we had saved as the players association.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was one of the most punished players at that moment because I had talent, and I needed to wait until arbitration to make my money,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo I hope they don\u2019t mess it up and they don\u2019t mistreat the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Difficult as the strike was, Martinez believes it was ultimately worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then there was a need for other things to change, and they changed for the better. This time there\u2019s no excuse,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cOn both sides, not the PA, not the owners, not baseball. The fans do not deserve to be mistreated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martinez said he believes baseball has gotten a lot of things right recently. He\u2019s a fan of the ABS challenge system and the efforts to speed up the game\u2019s pace of play, and while there are other things he\u2019d like to see improved, he feels as if the game is in a good place.<\/p>\n
But all of that progress could be jeopardized if the sport is shut down, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease, for the fans, both sides, figure it out, a good way to get it done, and do not lock out baseball,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n
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