Above: Pedro Martinez, his wife Carolina Cruz Martinez and Dominican President Danilo Medina

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina has named Pedro Martinez as the country’s newest goodwill ambassador, following a meeting on Wednesday.

Martinez’s new title comes after the Manoguayabo native was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this month.

Medina said Martinez had earned the title “for his career representing the country and making the Dominican people proud with his rise to the Hall of Fame of Cooperstown.:”

Martinez said he was “proud of what is happening in the country, as a man of the people” and proud of his appointment as a new goodwill ambassador.

He said he would be an “immortal ambassador” for the country outside of its borders — and that he would be a “representative of the Dominican people.”

Martinez pitched 18 seasons in the Major Leagues, finding his greatest success with the Montreal Expos and the Boston Red Sox.

He won three Cy Young awards, along with helping to pitch the Red Sox to a World Series championship in 2004.