From the baseball mound to the business world, the Hall of Famer has found a team that equals success in every venture, including the Pedro Martínez Foundation, which provides support and educational programs to children in low-income communities.
Pedro Martínez conquered the sports world. Over the course of his career, the legendary pitcher stood on the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and of course, the Boston Red Sox. Along the way he won the prestigious Cy Young award three times, was an All-Star player eight times over, won the 2004 World Series and earned his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015 — his first year of eligibility. In 2011, he officially retired from baseball. And just a few years later, his jersey number for the Boston Red Sox, 45, was also retired.
What does someone who has experienced so much success do in retirement? And how does the type of person who was so driven to achieve all those accolades in the first place redefine success for his life?
For Pedro, it meant going back to his roots. He returned to his hometown in the San Miguel de Manoguayabo region of the Dominican Republic, where he put into action his newfound mission: To meet every child’s educational, medical and emotional needs, in order to equip them to break the cycle of poverty in their families and communities. This became the mission statement of the Pedro Martínez Foundation.
“I know what it’s like to live in poverty.”
Established in 1999, the Pedro Martínez Foundation currently has sixty-three different programs creating a positive impact with more than 100,000 children. “I know what it’s like to live in poverty,” Pedro says, “and to feel like there is no way out of that situation. It was important to me to give from what I have received — offering at-risk children the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty through sports and education.”
His wife Carolina Cruz de Martínez, also from the Dominican Republic, is the president of the foundation, and has found a similar purpose in her work. She mentions the high rate of teenage pregnancy and school dropouts that they combat through sports and educational programs that aim to instill a love of learning and, most importantly she says, “helps the kids to see their own value.
“We have wonderful success stories of boys and girls that joined our programs when they were little, who have grown into adults with a college education and jobs — some of them are even part of our foundation staff. It’s so beautiful to see the fruit of the work we have sown.” The foundation continued to serve the community throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and is even in the process of building a charter school in the Dominican Republic. “There are so many hurting children in the world today,” she says, “and if we all helped out and gave back, we could truly help make our next generation a little better.”
In addition to his work with the foundation, Pedro has continued to be a force in the business world through his personal management firm 45 Enterprises, where his business endeavors, brand endorsements and speaking engagements are handled. Advising him on those ventures is law firm Fogel & Potamianos LLP (F&P).
“They’re constantly working with us on negotiating deals. They’ve also helped us create a great structure as an organization.”
One of the first projects F&P worked on was Feast with 45 at Fenway Park — home of the Boston Red Sox. The yearly fundraiser, along with the Annual Gala — next celebrating on November 11 — supports the charitable efforts of the foundation. A relationship was forged, and F&P began to serve as the general counsel for 45 Enterprises.
Partner Jerome Fogel was a regular point of contact for Pedro’s team and was proactive in discussing strategy for new and existing deals. Partner Constantine Potamianos spearheaded the work on the foundation’s corporate governance. And Robert Kramer worked on trademarking the brand imaging, as well as deals with PlayStation and Budweiser.
Charles Chessher, a manager at 45 Enterprises and the United States director of the Pedro Martínez Foundation says of F&P, “They’re constantly working with us on negotiating deals. They’ve also helped us create a great structure as an organization — from contractor agreements to trademarks to employee agreements to speaking and appearance agreements. They’ve helped us build a good system that we can utilize moving forward, ensuring we’re set up legally and structurally.”
F&P is just as impressed with the work being done at the Pedro Martínez Foundation. So much so, they do regular pro bono work for the organization — for both the Annual Gala and Feast with 45 events — and they donate part of their gross proceeds to the foundation every year. “It means so much to me,” Pedro says, “to have a law firm that gets involved in the things that are important to me, and actively shows their support. You don’t see that every day.”
When it comes to 45 Enterprises, the list of deals F&P has handled or advised on is lengthy and ever-growing: Sony PlayStation, Budweiser, the MLB Network, Turner Sports, Topps, Mitchell & Ness, The Players’ Tribune and Chase Marriott. Not to mention deals involving memorabilia, branding, trademarking and speaking engagements.
“Have a law firm that gets involved in the things that are important to me, and actively shows their support. You don’t see that every day.”
F&P’s work on Pedro’s speaking engagement contracts is particularly notable for Chessher. “When you’re dealing with a face brand, you’re dealing with the nuances of travel costs, the team that he’ll bring and more event-based, one-time situations.” If the contracts don’t have Pedro’s best interests reflected in the fine print, Chessher points out, “you get in a lot of sticky situations. They’ve been very helpful at getting more of what 45 Enterprises wants, as opposed to what these companies want.”
F&P also has a sense of urgency that Chessher says can be lost at other law firms. “There’s a bit more hustle there regarding moving projects forward, getting the work done, not letting things wait and sifting through all the information. A lot of times lawyers miss those important details.”
For Pedro, there is no detail or single aspect of a business deal that is more significant than another. “It’s important to me that all aspects of a deal are covered,” he emphasizes. “And F&P has been great at being thorough and not letting anything fall through the cracks.”
And for the Pedro Martínez team, working with F&P has felt more like a partnership than a typical interaction with a law firm — which has kept them returning for five years and counting.
“A lot of times with law firms it’s very clear that it’s just a business transaction, but F&P is much more invested in what we do on an ongoing basis.”
“I think they bring a lot of value, and we work well together,” Chessher says. “A lot of times with law firms it’s very clear that it’s just a business transaction, but F&P is much more invested in what we do on an ongoing basis — checking in, having quarterly calls on the progress of different things. Those are some of the striking differences that we’ve found with them. We’ve hired many, many law firms. And F&P has brought so much value to our organization.”
Finding a great team — both on and off the field — is just one example of the excellence Pedro has sought out for himself ever since he was a child. “I don’t know how to do it any other way,” he says of the values instilled in him by his parents. That drive led him to career highs like his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, starting a charitable foundation in his hometown and creating 45 Enterprises for his business endeavors.
Consequently, having reliable, hard-working and dedicated legal counsel to advise Pedro on those deals has meant one thing to the former ball player: “It means peace,” he says decisively. “Peace knowing that I have a legal team in my court, making sure I am set up well, and protected. I feel like my team has my back, and I appreciate F&P for all the hard work they have done.”
Sounds like success.
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