Events in Phillies history on October 25

  • October 25, 2008: In Game 3 of the 2008 World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies’ catcher Carlos Ruiz – nicknamed “Chooch” – hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to give the Phillies a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays and a 2-1 lead in the series.

Phillies birthdays from October 25

  • Pedro Martinez (1971) — Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher who spent part of his big-league career with Philadelphia among several teams listed on his career franchise history.

A PERSONAL NOTE… on Pedro Martinez

I have been a beat writer covering the Lehigh Valley IronPigs since their inaugural season in 2008. Following the 2008 season, Martinez was a free agent but did not sign until the following July when he signed with the Phillies as a hired gun for down the stretch. In working to get stretched out to join the Phillies, Martinez made a start for Lehigh Valley on July 31, 2009. The outing was unremarkable – 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K – but it served its purpose because Martinez threw 84 pitches (53 strikes).

We had been told that Martinez would talk to the media – and of course, media from all over had gathered – after his outing rather than waiting for the end of the game. We got word to file down to a small room near the clubhouse because he had showered and changed and would be speaking in about 10 minutes. As the media does, we filed down, some of us knowing the back stairways of the ballpark had a bit of an advantage and got toward the front.

Those 10 minutes turned into 20 and then 30 with his “representative” coming out periodically to tell us he would be out very soon. As it turned out, he had decided to engage in some sort of post-game routine that he had and would then shower and come out to speak with us. Keep in mind that this whole time the game is going on and we’re missing it. It was about 45 minutes after we had been told he was doing a post-game regimen that the future Hall of Famer walked out.

He then proceeded to take questions only in Spanish for about 20 minutes and then announced he would take questions in English. He was actually very engaging and open. Not only did he talk about the basics of joining the Phillies and his outing and the obligatory nice things about the Lehigh Valley, the ballpark, and the fans, but he allowed us to delve into other topics.

At the time, the Phillies had just acquired Cliff Lee. To which, Martinez said: “I’m really excited even though it gives us another herky-jerky lefty. So many lefties on the team. They’re all great and I’m really happy to be part of this team, especially now. It shows me the commitment the team has to win the World Series.”

Another issue in the news was allegations surrounding his former Red Sox teammates Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz and the use of steroids.

“We won in 2004, that’s it. As far as I know, I didn’t know they were doing it – it was something that was very common among the players as far as I know. I was never told that they were using anything, I never heard anything from them. They’re good with or without. Both of them are really, really good.

“One thing that has caught my attention is why’s it all Dominicans? The last one standing might be me. I can tell you one thing, I’m shocked because I’ve seen Manny throughout his career and he’s been as steady as you want a player to be. It’s not like he (Ortiz) hit a homer every time he hit it. There were a lot of bloopers that looked like he hit it with paper. I’m not going to say anything because I don’t agree with it. I believe the game should be played clean. They have my total support.”

Another note about that game. Martinez’ was facing the Columbus Clippers that night, the Triple-A team of the Cleveland Indians – this was the pre-Guardians era. Lee had been acquired from the Indians just a couple of days prior to Martinez’ outing for catchers Jason Knapp and Lou Marson, infielder Jason Donald, and pitcher Carlos Carrasco. Columbus was in town when the deal was announced and there was a parade of Marson, Donald, and Carrasco all dragging their belongings out of the IronPigs clubhouse, down the tunnel and into the dugout where they crossed the field behind home plate, went into the opponent’s dugout, down the tunnel and into the visitor’s clubhouse. It was quite the sight to see. Not only was Martinez facing the Clippers, but the opposing pitcher was – you guessed it – Carlos Carrasco, who was in the midst of a string of bad outings at the time, and gave up four earned runs in 5.1 innings that night, but got the win even with that type of outing.

Martinez went 5-1, 3.63 in nine starts with the Phillies, who made it to the World Series for the second season in a row, but lost to the Yankees.