When one has enough passion for something that they go professional with it, the only mindset to have is that of a winner. Some may lose steam once they’ve accomplished one big thing in life. But for people possessing extraordinary talents compared to most individuals, more wins are the only choices they see. And how does one win at life? Giving it their all. And the former Boston Red Sox legend, Pedro Martinez, did precisely that.

Yankees icon Derek Jeter is famous for saying, “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” And while the two Hall of Famers may have faced each other numerous times on the field, Martinez certainly took Jeter’s words to heart while talking to the NBA legend Charles Barkley. With a legendary career not many have been able to surpass, the former pitcher had a work ethic that probably only Jeter could rival.

Pedro Martinez says he was so focused on baseball, he didn’t pick up calls from family

In a recent talk on The Steam Room Live With Ej and Chuck, Martinez discussed his mentality when he played. “As a professional, you only know one level to play. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a preseason game, if it’s a regular season game, or postseason play – I wanted to always be at the same level. I wanted to be the best I could possibly be,” he told Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley.

Taking to Twitter to share his interview, the former Boston Red Sox player also said, “I wasn’t out there to make friends and I wasn’t out there to joke. But my day to pitch, I didn’t care about no girlfriend, I did not pick up the phone for any family member.” And one only needs to take a passing glance at his career stats and leave impressed. Martinez brought a whole different level of dedication to his play that showed on the field every single time he played.

MLB has yet to see any pitchers dominate the field as the Boston Red Sox legend did in his prime

Throughout his seventeen-season career, the Dominican-American pitcher played for five teams in total. But the most he’s remembered for is the Boston Red Sox, for which he played from 1998 to 2004. Not looking at full career stats of MLB pitchers since or before Martinez, those precious few years were some of the best MLB had seen.

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Pitching at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox, a field known to favor hitters, Martinez still managed to play as one of the best. Not only that, but playing during the steroid era, Roger Clemens was possibly one of the few ones who could come close to him. And that statement doesn’t hold much value because Clemens was later accused of using steroids.

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Today’s era has some names that could live up to the legacy of Pedro Martinez, but the late 90s were still some of the best years in baseball.