When Pedro Martinez broke silence on his iconic "call the Yankees my daddies” quip 

The New York Yankees controlled Pedro Martinez for a major portion of his time with the Boston Red Sox. He was one of the best pitchers in the game at the time and would go on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but he just couldn't figure out the Yankees.

When Martinez famously declared in September 2004 that he should just tip his cap and call the Yankees his daddy, New York supporters chanted, "Who's your daddy?" at him.

Martinez opened up about the story behind this infamous quip about his arch-rivals. In 2019, he joined Bleacher Report for Ask Me Anything:

“In the Dominican during the winter league, when someone has your number…in the Dominican, when you can’t beat them you normally say “who’s your dad?,”” Martinez wrote. “That’s what we say in the winter league. Because I didn’t have the exact words, I felt like they were my daddy right now…that was the terminology I used based on where I played in the winter league. But I don’t regret it, it didn’t change anything, if anything it made me better against the Yankees."

“Whenever I heard that chant I just turned it on,” he added. “I would strike them out and stay on top of the game. Have everybody shut up…”

Martinez made his MLB debut in 1992.

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Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez's iconic career

Several people believe that Pedro Martinez is among the greatest pitchers in MLB history as a result of his domination, which is reflected in contemporary statistics.

Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez now immortal and having fun the entire time. #HOFWKND - National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

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His number (45) was retired from the Red Sox in a ceremony two days after being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, his first year of eligibility. This made him the second Dominican player to be inducted, following Juan Marichal.