Martinez where he belongs

PHILADELPHIA Torn between a promise he made to his dying father and love for his mother, Pedro Martinez had to make a tough decision.

Return to the major leagues or stay home with his family in the Dominican Republic?

The Philadelphia Phillies sure are glad the three-time Cy Young Award winner picked baseball. Martinez is 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA in seven starts with the defending World Series champions.

So much for the thought that the 37-year-old Martinez was finished after four disappointing and injury-riddled seasons with the New York Mets.

Martinez may look strange in red Phillies pinstripes, but he's pitching like his old, dominant self. He was vintage Pedro in his last outing against the Mets on Sunday night. He tossed eight crisp innings, allowing six hits and striking out seven in a 1-0 victory.

Martinez credits his success to finally feeling healthy, and having a clear mental outlook after a trying year last season when his father, Paulino, died following a long battle with brain cancer.

"Right now, I'm playing moment by moment, pitch by pitch, game by game," Martinez said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. "If anything goes wrong, I'll have to walk away from the game, so I want to enjoy every little piece that I can."

One of the best power pitchers of his generation, Martinez doesn't have the same pop on his fastball anymore. But he can still hit the low 90s on the radar gun and has good enough stuff to beat teams with finesse pitching.

"I'm not the way I used to be. My velocity is not there and I'm older," he said. "But I'm wiser. I have more experience. I think that complements my overall stuff."

A deeply religious and family-oriented man, Martinez believes strongly in loyalty. After pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, he returned home and spent a lot of time with his mother. Martinez had offers to play in the majors, but he wanted to pitch for a contending team.

While waiting for the right opportunity to come along, he comforted his mother, Leopoldina, and helped her through a difficult period in her life.

"God works in different ways. All that time I spent in the Dominican helped me so much with my mom," Martinez said. "If I wasn't there for my mom, I don't know where she would be right now after my dad passed away. I got to spend time with her, build a garden with her. We had some workers help us, but I was out there digging and planting roses with her. We spent a month and a half building that garden and that distracted my mom from what happened. It helped her."

When he got the chance to join the Phillies, Martinez couldn't pass it up. After all, that's what his dad wanted him to do. He signed a one-year contract during the all-star break for a prorated share of $2 million plus incentives.

"When he was passing away, my father told me to go play baseball," Martinez said. "I didn't feel the way I ended last year was the way he wanted me to go out."

It wasn't easy to tell his mom that he was leaving again. She got used to finally having him home for the first time in more than 20 years.

"She was crying a lot," Martinez said. "She said, 'You are fine here. You don't need to go to work anymore.' At the same time, I felt committed to my dad. She understood that, but she said, 'Just go for a couple months and if anything happens, come home.' "

Martinez wants to go back with another championship ring. He helped the Boston Red Sox win the 2004 World Series and hopes to get his first NL ring with the Phillies.

Martinez comes across as cocky on the mound, but he's a down-to-earth, humble, proud guy off the field. The right-hander said he's a different person when he takes his uniform off.

. "I don't talk much. I don't smile much because my biggest responsibility is to go out there and work. That's my gift from God. I respect it and honor it."

His father would be proud.