I was one of the most ferocious pitchers in MLB history – now I love gardening and raising chickens in retirement

PEDRO Martinez used to terrify MLB hitters, but at home he has a soft side.

The MLB Hall of Famer and TBS analyst has an affinity for gardening, a special hobby of his.

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Pedro Martinez has a wholesome hobby in his retirementCredit: Getty

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Martinez enjoys gardening in his free timeCredit: Getty

Martinez retired in 2009, but has stayed around the game of baseball.

However, he has another love that he spends time on when he isn’t analyzing games.

“I’m a gardener. I can tell you proudly—I’m a gardener,” Martínez told Front Office Sports.

“I love dealing with my gardens, growing roses, vegetables, and stuff like that.

“And I also love growing animals like chickens right now in my backyard.

“There’s a whole bunch of geese because I feed them. I feed them. I shouldn’t do that, but I feed them.

“I just, I just love to see nature.”

Martinez got his love of gardening from his mother, who would bring him outside after he fought with his brother.

“My mom would just pull me aside. ‘Come here, go with me to the garden, clip my roses,'” Martinez continued.

“What I used to do before every single game I pitched in Boston, was clip my flowers when I woke up, before I went to the field, and then head over.

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“That was my therapy to start every game, and get myself into the zone that I needed to actually go and pitch. Gardening.

“You would never guess that one.”

Martinez estimated that he has somewhere around 1,000 chickens.

He also said that he lives mostly off the food that he grows on his land in the Dominican Republic.

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American League Starters

Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Seattle MarinersFirst base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue JaysSecond base: Gleyber Torres, Detroit TigersThird base: José Ramírez, Cleveland GuardiansShortstop: Jacob Wilson, The AthleticsOutfield: Aaron Judge, New York YankeesOutfield: Javier Báez, TigersOutfield: Riley Greene, TigersDesignated hitter: Ryan O’Hearn, Baltimore Orioles

National League Starters

Catcher: Will Smith, Los Angeles DodgersFirst base: Freddie Freeman, DodgersSecond base: Ketel Marte, Arizona DiamondbacksThird base: Manny Machado, San Diego PadresShortstop: Francisco Lindor, New York MetsOutfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta BravesOutfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago CubsOutfield: Kyle Tucker, CubsDesignated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers

“I like to eat organic. I produce literally everything I eat in the Dominican,” he said.

“My mom is a farmer. I have the land to produce whatever I want and I enjoy it.

“So I have my uncles, my cousins, everybody that knows how to work it, working with it.

“When I’m not there, they keep growing whatever I left. And I try to eat organic from the things that I grow.”