SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Ever since Pedro Martinez entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in July, Emilio Cordova, the Dominican Republic’s most celebrated baseball historian, has been carrying copies of stat sheets with him all over town. On one side of the pages are Martinez’s career numbers; on the other are those of Juan Marichal, the country’s other legendary pitcher.
“Everyone keeps asking me who was better,” said Cordova, who is known as Cuqui. “It’s driving me crazy!”
He reels off the statistics — complete games, shutouts, earned run average — like they are an unshakable tic.