In an exclusive interview with Bob Nightengale, Major League Baseball columnist for USA TODAY 
Sports, Hall of Fame, right-handed starting pitcher Pedro Martinez shared his opinion regarding having to face performance enhancing drug and steroid users during his days on the mound.
"How did I feel like pitching in the juiced era? I wouldn’t want it any other way," said Martinez, through Nightengale. "There's no crying. I know I did it the right way."
As the numbers show, Martinez succeeded in his career against some of the most notable players linked to performance enhancing drug usage, such as Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez, and Sammy Sosa.
Playing from 1992-2009, Martinez's prime years were right at the heart of the infamous steroid era in the league. The Mitchell Report, which was the first significant crack-down of this era, wasn't released until December 13, 2007.
Pedro Martinez says that he believes 60% of the #MLB was using steroids and PEDs when he pitched.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 16, 2015
Martinez faced 1,099 unique Major League Baseball players throughout his career, including the postseason, over 11,785 plate appearances and 10,706 at-bats. Using his estimation, 60% of 1,099 batters, would yield approximately 659 unique players who faced him while taking performance enhancing drugs.
Pedro Martinez's Career Statistics
Martinez, 43, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies to a $1 million contract six years ago yesterday, July 15, 2009.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner told the following to reporters at the time of his signing:
"I don't expect to be the same Pedro that I was when I was 26. There's a lot of innings I've pitched since then. It's not the same, but I still feel like I can still bring something to the table."
Judging by the results of his nine regular season outings in red pinstripes, Martinez didn't possess his iconic strikeout dominance of years past. Regardless, he was still effective and was an asset to have for the Phillies in the starting rotation, as they looked to repeat as World Series champions that October.
The Dominican Republic-native threw three combined starts with the Clearwater Threshers, Reading Phillies, and Lehigh Valley IronPigs before receiving the call-up to face Jeff Samardzija and the Chicago Cubs on August 12, 2009 for his first start since the season prior, September 25 as a New York Met.
During his Phillies debut, Martinez allowed three earned runs over seven hits and a walk in five innings of work. He allowed two extra-base hits, doubles to first baseman Derrek Lee and center fielder Kosuke Fukudome.
The eight-time All-Star was 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA over his first seven starts as a Phillie, but he unfortunately lost his 100th career game on September 19, 2009 in Atlanta, the eighth and second-to-last start regular season start of his 18-year career.
Pedro Martinez's 2009 Regular Season Game Log
While Martinez did not pitch in the NLDS against the Colorado Rockies, as the team opted to start southpaw J.A. Happ in Game 3, he was given the starting nod on October 16, 2009 in the second game of the NLCS against Vicente Padilla and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite surrendering just two hits in seven shutout innings, the Phillies fell, 2-1 as they picked up just four hits against their former starting pitcher, who was acquired in the July 2000 Curt Schilling trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Pedro Martinez's 2009 Postseason Game Log
Overall in three postseason starts in red pinstripes, Martinez was 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA and a 0.882 WHIP. He was the losing pitcher in the World Series clincher for the New York Yankees, their 27th championship in franchise history.
Alex Rodriguez, the face of the steroid era alongside all-time home run leader Barry Bonds, had one home run and six runs-batted-in against Philadelphia that series.
Since retirement, Martinez has been an in-studio analyst for TBS postseason coverage. Earlier this year, he joined MLB Network in a similar role. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a Red Sox in January, receiving 91.1% of the votes (500 out of 549).
With no-hitters almost becoming a norm, it's scary to imagine how well Martinez would throw in today's game, as less and less players are taking performance enhancing drugs with increased consequences.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
