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Smithsonian Unveils Painting Of Pitching Great Pedro Martinez

Pedro Martinez says that while painter Susan Miller-Havens worked on his portrait, she focused on his hands. She saw his long fingers and told him that he “used them to do art with my fingers.”

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Today, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery added a 57 inch by 21 inch oil and beeswax painting of the pitcher to its collection. During a short speech at the unveiling in Washington, D.C., Martinez said while he has been in some pretty tough games, he had never “felt this much emotion.”

After the ceremony, he spoke to NPR’s Robert Siegel for tonight’s edition of All Things Considered. Martinez talked about how his double jointed fingers helped his pitching, but he also talked about how he used his body and his gaze to reflect his intentions in the game:

Continue reading and listen here - NPR

In his prime, Pedro was one of the most dominant pitchers of all time, and he was an absolute pleasure to watch when he first joined the Mets. It’s a shame his effectiveness and health dropped off so abruptly.