From the start of his spech, it was evident that much of Pedro Martinez's Hall of Fame induction speech Sunday would a tribute to the Dominican Republic.
"I'm gonna start in English," Martinez told the crowd, "but I'm pretty sure I'm going to finish in Spanish."
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He didn't quite finish in Spanish, but he did give a portion of his heartfelt speech in his native tounge. It was a speech rooted and grounded in three themes: faith, family and country.
His speech was especially poignant given the controversial comments by former ESPN personality Colin Cowherd about the intellectual abilites of baseball players from the Dominican Republic .
"I'm Dominican, even though I get away with English pretty well, I remain Dominican," he said.
Martinez spent 18 years in the majors with the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, Mets and Phillies. He finished with a career record of 219-100 and 3,154 strikeouts. The Red Sox, with whom he spent seven seasons, will retire Martinez's No. 45 jersey on Tuesday.
In between the soaring rhetoric of his speech Sunday, Martinez managed to touch on a few other subects. He thanked the people of Montreal for supporting him during his time with the Expos, and said he hopes the city gets a team soon.
He also addressed the media, which he admittedly had a rocky relationship with at times.
"I had a little stretch where I thought you didn't like me," he said. "But hey, you made it up for me. You made it when it really mattered."
During the Spanish portion of his speech, he dedicated the day to the fathers of the Dominican Republic, as it was also Father's Day in his native country.
Martinez ended his speech by holding up the Dominican flag with Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, giving his country "a gift they waited 32 years to receive."
From start to finish, Martinez's speech had the feel of a national rally, as he spoke directly to the people of his country, with flags covering the audience from all angles.
"I would like all of you not to look at me as numbers," Martinez told the crowd. "I would like you to see me as a sign of hope from a third world country."