Pedro Martinez admits ’90 percent’ of batters he hit were on purpose

Pedro Martinez put on a Boston Red Sox uniform Monday, hit the field and ... coached.

He's acting as a "special assistant" to general manager Ben Cherington, working with some of the young Red Sox pitchers.

But as anybody who has ever heard a Pedro Martinez interview knows, he can deliver pure gold when you put a microphone in front of him. That's why we care a bit more about what Pedro said after helping out the young BoSox arms than what he did on the field.

Specifically this tidbit rang out: Pedro admitted to reporters that 90 percent of the batters he hit were on purpose. Say what you want about Pedro, but he always did have control.

Pedro maintains, however, there was no pre-meditation for one of his most famous encounters — with Karim Garcia in 2003 during the ALCS: "Not on purpose. It didn't even hit him, it hit the bat. Lucky bastard."

Not included in the video, but definitely worth revisiting while we're on this subject, is Pedro's response back in 2003 about the incident:

Hearing Pedro Martinez speak freely years later is (1) More entertaining (and less sad) than Mike Piazza, that's for sure. (2) Reminiscent of a retired mafia admitting all his secrets.

Give us more, Pedro. More, more, more. Might we recommend a web series titled "Pedro Martinez's True MLB Stories." That would be better than watching the Marlins this season.

Spring training is here. Stretch out with us.
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