MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 13, 1999

Pedro Martinez

PEDRO MARTINEZ: This is probably more than I expected and a lot of whip cream and sweet in there.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: Right there. It's right there. I can tell you one thing, I wasn't expecting this one to happen. I just wanted to go out there, be part of it and have fun with it. I thought that by seeing Ted Williams come in and the crowd goes wild, see the planes passing by after the anthem was something really big. But this is also part of it. And this is one that hopefully we'll all enjoy, the fans and me.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: Not really, no. I think in baseball, that's what makes it so interesting. In baseball you just never know what's going to happen. And those guys, those are some of the best in the world, but anything could happen, that's what makes our game so special.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: That's a big word, the one you just said, the last game of the century. It really means a lot, not only for myself, as an individual, but also for baseball, for the fans, my people, everybody, the hometown. It's just something really good to happen to me, especially in this one. This one I think has a little bit more taste than the previous ones I've been in. And I'm glad that it went to my side. I just have to thank God for the things that have come to me, especially not expecting it.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: Well, it feels great. It's like with the Cy Young, I thought I was the second one to win the Cy Young, and too bad I got the trophy the first time, but I thought Marichal was the first one to win it, actually. I'm just really proud to be right beside his name and take a little trophy like this and also the recognition as the MVP in the All-Star Game, I take it with a lot of pride. I'm really happy that that happened and that my name can be sitting right beside his, because that's a name I really admire and respect.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: I'm just going to get back tomorrow, do my running, do my weights, get ready for the next one. I'm not really thinking about this. This is tonight, this is all over, I'm just going to start tomorrow again. I mean I'm having fun with this. This is really special, but after tomorrow it's all over. Everybody goes home and I have to go back to work. I'm going to do that and hopefully I'll keep bringing good things to baseball, and also to myself and the fans here in Boston. They really deserve it.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: I'll be pitching again I think it's the fourth game, which will be on Sunday.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: I think as soon as I get back to the clubhouse and pick up my phone I'll have a lot of people calling. But the reaction, they really showed me out there. They really showed me part of it. I'm sure that there's going to be probably half of them just waiting for me to come out there. It's going to be a long night for me tonight.

PEDRO MARTINEZ: I think it makes it a little bit more special being here in Boston, and having me as part of it, not only representing the team and representing the country, but also representing the decade, the last one, being there with all those players, I don't think anybody else is going to get to put them all together, having a chance, that opportunity to see people that I never, never in my life dreamed of seeing, all together at one time. It's probably even bigger than just participating in it. Not everybody gets a chance. I feel really, really lucky. And here in Boston, nobody better to appreciate it than these fans here. They really know what it's all about, and they really understand their baseball and their tradition here.

End of FastScripts….