Martinez Is Staking Claim to King of the Hill

Is it possible in this era of high-octane offense that we are seeing a streak of pitching domination rivaling that of Sandy Koufax in the ‘60s?

Is it sacrilege to suggest that Pedro Martinez is in the process of surpassing, in some statistical categories, what Koufax accomplished from 1962 through 1966, generally considered the most overpowering and sustained streak of pitching brilliance in baseball history?

Well, you can look it up.

* Koufax was 111-34 in those five years, a win percentage of .765. Martinez is 63-19 in the three-plus seasons starting in 1997, a win percentage of .768.

* Koufax struck out 4.6 batters for every walk compared to 5.2 for Martinez, who last year became the only pitcher since 1900 to strike out more than 300 batters (313) and walk fewer than 50 (37).

* Koufax had an amazing earned-run average of 1.95 for the five years, leading the National League in ERA every year. Martinez led the NL in ERA in ‘97, led the American League last year, is leading again at 1.59 and has an overall ERA since ’97 of 2.26. He has done that while delivering an allegedly juiced baseball, facing bulked-up batters and coping with AL lineups that include a designated hitter.

Although Koufax won 25 or more games three times in the five years, Martinez has become increasingly dominant, going from 17-8 with the Montreal Expos in ’97 to 19-7 and 23-4 in his first two seasons with the Boston Red Sox. He is 4-0 before today’s game against the Cleveland Indians.

He leads the league in strikeouts, leads the majors in ratio of strikeouts per nine innings (12.7) and has restricted opposing batters to a league-low .168 average--about .110 below the wall-banging AL’s overall average.

It is impossible, of course, to compare players of different eras, and none of this is to say Martinez is on his way to eclipsing Koufax.

The latter threw four no-hitters, annually struck out 300 or more and frequently worked in a four-man rotation, pitching 300 or more innings a year.

Nor is it to say Martinez is the only pitcher to emerge from the expansion-diluted scrap pile with a performance worthy of any era.

To cite a few: Roger Clemens, in a five-year span starting in 1986, went 100-42, a .704 win percentage. Randy Johnson, more intimidating, perhaps, than either Martinez or Koufax, remains at the top of his 6-foot-10 game and could become only the third pitcher ever to win six games in April if he beats the Chicago Cubs today. He is 61-24 over the last three-plus seasons, a .718 percentage. Greg Maddux artistically rolls on after winning 176 games in the ‘90s, and Curt Schilling, when healthy, has been a 300-inning, 300-strikeout throwback.

It’s Martinez, however, who is in his prime at 28, has already made in-roads on the Koufax resume, may pitch 10 more years if healthy and remains driven in part by the management and medical opinion as a Dodger that he was susceptible to injury and too frail to start regularly.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that ever since [then-Dodger manager] Tom Lasorda said he wasn’t strong enough to start every five days Pedro has carried a little chip on his shoulder and is motivated to prove he can,” said Jim Lefebvre, a former Koufax teammate who has seen and known Martinez as a major league coach and manager.

Lefebvre and Lasorda once traded punches in a TV studio and will never be seen in the same luxury suite at Dodger Stadium. That aside, Lefebvre said it is not a stretch to compare Martinez and Koufax in the context that “more than great stuff, both were and are fierce competitors with hearts of gold. Sandy wanted to be out there against the best, and that’s the way Pedro is. Both simply dominated hitters, no matter how many or how good.”

Frank Robinson, one of the best, reflected and said, “No matter what I expected Koufax to throw or knew he was going to throw, I couldn’t hit it. He was basically a fastball and curve pitcher who wasn’t going to trick you. Pedro has three or four pitches and throws them from different angles. I always considered Sandy the dominant pitcher of his time. He could control a game even when he didn’t have his best stuff. There was always the feeling he might throw a no-hitter.

“I think there’s the same feeling with Pedro. Maybe not to the extent of a no-hitter, but that there’s a good chance he’ll control the game. I didn’t enjoy hitting against Sandy, and I wouldn’t enjoy hitting against Pedro.”

The Martinez fastball and curve, while clearly above average, are not in the Koufax class, according to scouts.

However, his changeup probably ranks with that of Trevor Hoffman as the game’s best, makes the fastball appear faster and helps neutralize left-handed batters in the same manner that his willingness to come inside with the fastball helps neutralize right-handers.

His 1999 differential of 276 more strikeouts than walks ranks third all-time to the 311 by Koufax in 1965 and the 294 by Johnson last year.

“How good do you have to be [to post those numbers]?” asked Ron Fairly, a former Koufax teammate and longtime broadcaster.

“I mean, what Babe Ruth was to hitting, Sandy was to pitching. His statistics during those five years are far and away superior to anyone else’s, and now Pedro is halfway to doing what Sandy did.

As Martinez attempts to build on his record today, there is one link to Koufax that will never be the same.

One will always rank as a Dodger great. The other, lamentably traded for Delino DeShields, should have been.