Before Pedro Martinez was the eight-time All Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and World Series champion, before stadiums full of fans chanted his name, he was just a little kid from the Dominican Republic who sat under a mango tree and dreamed of playing pro ball. Now in Pedro, the charismatic and always colorful pitcher opens up for the first time to tell his remarkable story. Martinez entered the big leagues a scrawny power pitcher with a lightning arm who they said wasn't "durable" enough, who they said was a punk. But what they underestimated about Pedro Martinez was the intensity of the fire inside. Like no one before or since, Martinez willed himself to become one of the most intimidating pitchers to have ever played the game. In Pedro we relive it all in Technicolor brightness, from his hardscrabble days in the minor leagues clawing for respect; to his early days in lonely Montreal, where he first struggled with the reputation of being a headhunter; to his legendary run with the Red Sox when start after start he dazzled with his pitching genius; to his twilight years on the mound as he put the finishing touches on a body of work that made him an icon. Bold, outspoken, intimate in its details, and grand in ego and ambition, this new memoir by one of baseball's most enigmatic figures will entertain and inspire generations of fans to come. AUTHOR: Pedro Martinez is a Dominican Republic-born former Major League Baseball pitcher. An 8-time All-Star, 3-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion, Martinez is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2014. He currently serves as a special consultant for the Boston Red Sox. Michael Silverman is a columnist for the Boston Herald and has been covering baseball and the Red Sox since 1995. Colour illustrations