Martinez: Harvey has 'more talent than I do'
Hall of Famer believes Mets ace has potential to be better than him
NEW YORK -- Pedro Martinez is a fan of Mets ace Matt Harvey, and he has high praise for the young right-hander.
"I think that he has more talent than I do," Martinez told WNYW Fox 5 in an interview that will air Sunday. "And he has better chances to do better than I did."
A quick refresher on Martinez, the 2015 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee:
• A 219-100 record in 409 starts over 18 seasons
• Five ERA titles, including two sub-2.00 ERA seasons and 2.93 career mark in 2,827 1/3 innings
• 3,154 career strikeouts against 760 walks
• 2004 World Series champion with Boston Red Sox
So basically, if Martinez is right, Harvey can go down as an all-time great.
It won't be easy for Harvey, who is 17-10 with a 2.39 ERA over 41 career starts. Harvey is already 26, and he faces a variety of obstacles that could prevent him from matching Martinez's numbers. But like Martinez, Harvey is a power pitcher that doesn't back down from opponents and appears to enjoy the limelight.
"I became a patch of a lot of pitchers that I saw in the big leagues," said Martinez, who started 79 games for the Mets from 2005-2008. "I took the time to study everybody, pretty much. So I'm expecting Harvey to do the same thing … to study the game, to study the atmosphere around him, to study mechanics … to study all of those things to become the best he could be, and the best he could be is better than I was"