Pedro Martinez Becomes Second Dominican Player to be Inducted to the Hall of Fame

Former MLB pitcher Pedro Martinez has been inducted to the Hall of Fame. The 43-year-old, who officially retired from the game in 2011, is the second Dominican player to get voted into the Hall of Fame.

"We waited 32 years for another Dominican," said Martinez at the ceremony held in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday. "I hope all Dominicans remember this. I don't think the Dominican Republic will have a better image than me and (Juan) Marichal on Father's Day (in the Dominican Republic) to be up there."

Martinez wore two patches to honor the Dominican Republic and the USA. He also made two speeches, the first one in English and the second on in Spanish. During his speech, a large crowd of Dominicans cheered on. Martinez, who invited Marichal, the first Dominican player to be inducted in 1983, to the stage, paid tribute to his home country by dancing a little bit of merengue.

"Words have the power to build you or break you - I chose two words to describe pretty much how I feel today in this special day with all of you," said Martinez. "There's so many things I would like to say that I don't know if I will find the words in Spanish or English. But, my God, I'm thankful. I'm thankful for everything. The two words I chose today were 'God' and 'thank you.'"

He added, "Today I don't want to roll into numbers and games that I pitched. I just want to make sure that my people get a little message across from me and see me as a sign of hope for a future generation. I'm going to have to switch a little bit to Spanish because I would like these people to really feel what I feel today and what I mean to say."

Martinez was voted in by 91 percent on his first ballot.

Pitchers Randy Johnson and John Smoltz and catcher/second baseman Craig Biggio were also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Johnson, Smoltz and Martinez combined for 735 wins, 11,113 strikeouts and nine Cy Young Awards.