Major League Baseball

Pedro Martinez passed up steroids

Published Aug. 9, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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Pedro Martinez operated during what has become known as the Golden Age of steroids in baseball.

The future Hall of Famer won three Cy Youngs, was named to eight All-Star Games and picked up more than 200 wins while heavy hitters like Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds ruled the game.

All four of those sluggers — and countless other players — have since been linked to performance-enhancing drugs, and Martinez himself admitted this week that he was tempted by the allure of banned substances early in his career.

The former Red Sox ace told The Boston Globe’s Stan Grossfield that he was offered steroids while in the Dodgers’ minor league system but decided the risks of the drugs outweighed any potential reward.

“Every other guy that was taller and more good-looking got called up,” Martinez said. “It seemed like it was going to take forever. That if I had a better body or added something to my body…

“But I heard the after-effects … I just chose not to and I stayed like that.”

Martinez played 18 seasons in the majors, amassing 219 wins and retiring in 2009 with a 2.93 career ERA.

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