Pedro (Aquino) Martinez joined the New York Mets when he was traded from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Jeff Barry on December 15, 1995. The left-hander was actually the first Pedro Martinez in New York and followed by the much more famous one in 2005.
Pedro began the 1996 season in Triple-A Norfolk after just missing the final spot in the Mets bullpen out of spring training. He had recorded a 2-1 record, with two saves and a 3.33 ERA in 17 games when New York called him up on June 10th. Martinez made his Mets debut on June 14, 1996 throwing three innings of scoreless relief facing the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Pedro would appear on a total of five games for New York from the bullpen. His only appearance at Shea Stadium was registering the first two outs during the ninth-inning of a 5-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on June 20th. The southpaw's last game for the Mets was on July 5th in Montreal. Notable because when he entered the game in the fifth inning it paired him against fellow Dominican and Expos starting pitcher, Pedro J. Martinez. New York would win the contest 9-6, but the left-handed Martinez would be optioned back to Norfolk. He ended his Mets career with a 6.43 ERA during a total of seven innings of relief work. Pedro served in the Tides bullpen until being claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds on September 13, 1996.
Pedro Martinez signed his card in the set for my friend, John Guzman in the Dominican Republic during his trip there on March 10, 2011.
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