Martinez only spent 4 seasons with Montreal, from age 22 through 25, but that's when he started to show glimpses of the brilliant pitcher he'd become. In 1997, his final season in Montreal, he'd go 17–8 with a minuscule 1.90 ERA (led majors), 13 complete games (led majors), 4 shutouts, and 305 strikeouts to 67 walks. He won his first of 3 Cy Young awards that year.
His grand totals with les Expos:
55 W, 33 L, 3.06 ERA, 20 CG, 8 SHO, 248 BB, 843 SO, 797.1 IP
Then he was off to Boston, and you already know the dominance he displayed there. More Cy Young Awards, All-Star teams, a Triple Crown, a World Series championship. Total stud. I'm glad I found a way to get him into these French lessons.
And speaking of these lessons, I think I'm going to make this the final one in the series, which is fitting with "corkscrew". In other words, if you've stuck with the entire series—all 13 posts—consider congratulating yourself in the only way a French baseball player would: by taking out that corkscrew, opening a bottle of wine, and enjoying a glass. (Beer is fine, too.)
Thanks for reading!
Not a big wine or beer guy... so I'll stick to my Arnold Palmer. But this was a great series. Merci beaucoup
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for following along, Fuji! An Arnold Palmer sounds pretty good to me, too. Cheers.
DeleteThis was a fun and informative series! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Matt!
DeleteThis series certainly was different; possibly a little too different for today's average blog reader. For what it's worth though, I did enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree, Jon. Maybe if there was still a team in Montreal, and they had some French-Canadian players on the roster, it would have generated a little more interest.
DeleteI speak French but still learned a thing or two. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that, Derek! I certainly learned a lot as well.
DeleteI went with my dad to Olympic Stadium for Father's Day in 1997 to see Martinez pitch. It was a great game. A few months after that my parents retired and moved to the west coast. A few months after that Martinez left Montreal for Boston. A few months after that I left Canada and moved to Japan. And a few years after that the Expos moved to Washington and ceased to exist as the Expos. If I had realized that would be the last Expos game I'd ever see with my Dad at the time I probably would have savored it a bit more, but nonetheless I have a huge nostalgia for Martinez cards in an Expos uniform!
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Sean! I always appreciate personal experiences like that. And who know, maybe one day Montreal will have a team again and you'll visit for a game or two.
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