Dave Van Horne: Ranks top 5 Expo Hall of Famers - Pedro Martinez

We asked broadcaster Dave Van Horne, honoured with the Ford C. Frick award in Cooperstown in 2011 to pick the top five Montreal Expos who reside in Cooperstown. Van Horne was the lead play-by-play broadcaster opening day 1969 ... and it stayed that way for 32 years.

A Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. Van Horne now works Miami Marlins games as he has since 2001. Van Horne was named the 1996 Jack Graney award winner and in 2014 was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys.

Vlad Guerrero ... rated No. 5 of the Expos in Cooperstown

And No. 4 ... Pedro Martinez

By Dave Van Horne

In his first season as a member of the Montreal Expos, in 1994, he became a starting pitcher.

In his fourth and last season with the Expos, he was the National Leagues Cy Young Award winner.

Pedro Martinez was deemed too small to become a starting pitcher by the Dodgers, but he got his chance under Felipe Alou and the Expos. By the time the work stoppage came about, Aug. 11, Pedro had established himself as a dominant young right-hander, striking out batters, plunking a few and becoming one of the reasons the team had the best record in Major League Baseball.

Felipe Alou took Pedro under his wing. Joe Kerrigan was the team’s pitching coach at the time and certainly made contributions to the development of Pedro. However, it was Felipe who had the biggest influence on the young right-hander. He treated Pedro like a son and invested time and energy, countless afternoons working in the bullpen with the gifted pitcher between starts.

Pedro had some command issues with his fastball. It had such movement and great velocity and it took time for Pedro to get it under control. None of the Montreal hitters wanted to stand in the batter’s box while Pedro worked. The fastball was intimidating and at times, even Pedro didn’t know where it was going. To assist, a mannequin was brought into the side sessions and placed in the batter’s box. The mannequin didn’t last; it was destroyed by a series of errant fastballs.

Soon a polyurethane batter was purchased, one that could with stand the impact. With hard work and dedication, Pedro became a force on the mound, a fierce competitor and a winner.

In the second start of the season, Pedro faced the Reds at Olympic Stadium April 13th, 1994. It was just the fifth start of his big league career and he was facing Reggie Sanders with a perfect game going in the eighth inning. He’d been pitching Sanders up and in the whole game and Sanders was ducking and dodging that elusive fastball on several occasions. He came inside again and hit Sanders on the elbow with the pitch and Sanders charged the mound!

The Reds player tackled Pedro and touched off an incident that lasted several minutes. Sanders was ejected, Pedro regained his composure and went into the top of the ninth with a no-hitter when Brian Dorsett, the Reds catcher, singled to break it up. John Wetteland came on for the Expos and gave up two runs to tie the game, but got the win when Montreal walked it off in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 win.

It remains a mystery as to why Sanders thought, with a PERFECT GAME intact in the eighth inning. Pedro, or any pitcher in that situation, would intentionally throw at the batter.

In Pedro’s final season with the Expos, he won the first of his three Cy Young Awards. We didn’t even get a chance to enjoy an award presentation the next spring at Olympic Stadium. Pedro was traded to the Red Sox in November and his Expos career was over.

Martinez would win two more Cy Young Awards with Boston.

The eight-time All-Star never failed to deliver an exciting start. As a broadcaster, I always felt we were in for a special performance every time he pitched and always looked forward to his starts. He never disappointed the fans, his teammates and this broadcaster.

I’ve always felt Steve Rogers, over the long haul, was the best the Expos ever had. He pitched in four games in the 1981 post-season. His record was 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA. He beat Hall of Famer Steve Carlton twice in the National League Division Series, with his pitching and his hitting.

Pedro was electrifying, intimidating and a fierce competitor. Those four years in Montreal, where he became a starting pitcher, remain a highlight of my broadcast career.

Who knows what the future might have held for the franchise, and Pedro, if not for that horrible strike of 1994, ending the season of that team with the best record in Major League Baseball.