Imagine stepping to the plate in a charity baseball game and having to face Pedro Martinez. Even now, stepping into the batter’s box with No. 45 on the mound would be a bit overwhelming.
Martinez suited back up to pitch in the Abbot Financial Management Oldtime Baseball Game recently to help raise money for the John Martin and ALS Therapy Development Institute. Martinez wanted to play in the game after learning a longtime Red Sox cameraman had been diagnosed with ALS.
Pedro Martinez donned his old No. 45 and took the mound to help raise money for the John Martin Fund and fight ALS. https://t.co/W0MrdDlXNB pic.twitter.com/1nBIpszzY1
— NESN (@NESN) August 18, 2017
As you may have seen in the video above, Martinez even had an at-bat, and as you definitely saw, the DH is there for a reason.
In addition to covering the Red Sox, Martin has also captured the Boston Bruins on camera for the past 19 years with NESN. He has won 5 Emmy awards in his career and has continued on with his work as much as he can. A GoFundMe page has been setup to attempt to raise $200,000 to support he and his family. As of this writing, more than half of that amount has been raised.
About Kevin McGuire
Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.