SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Thousands of people in the Dominican Republic greeted new baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez after he landed Saturday in his homeland aboard a private plane bearing his countrys flag.A caravan greeted the former Boston Red Sox pitcher at the airport and took him to a public park in Santo Domingo, where a crowd lined a 19-mile stretch of highway to catch a glimpse of him.Once at the park, Martinez went on stage accompanied by players David Ortiz and Robinson Cano as merengue music played and fireworks lit up the sky.This is only the beginning, he said. I now pass the torch to those behind me, to Sammy Sosa, to Vladimir Guerrero, to David Ortiz, to the younger generation.The 43-year-old Martinez was voted into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday, becoming only the second Dominican to receive that honour. Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal was elected in 1983.I want to dedicate this to the Dominican people, Martinez said with a wide smile as he spoke at a news conference shortly after arriving.His mother was among the dozens of people who greeted him at the airport.Im so grateful to God, Leopoldina Martinez said.She recalled a conversation they once had after her son injured his shoulder, with her telling him, If you cant handle the pain, bear it, but you need to end your career clean, she said, referring to concerns she had about banned substances.Thank God my son recognized that money isnt everything, and that he thought of himself and he thought of me, she said.The slightly built Martinez said he remained clean throughout his career despite several teammates being sanctioned for steroid use.Im not going to deny that I maybe could have earned an extra $20 or $30 million, he said, adding, No one in the major leagues can buy the name Martinez off my back. Thats why I didnt choose any shortcuts.Among the thousands of fans who greeted Martinez on Saturday was Dave Hagman, a retired U.S. citizen from Minnesota who was in the Dominican Republic for charity work. He arrived with three other friends, even though hes a Minnesota Twins fan.We like Martinezs style, he said.Martinez is expected to move on late Saturday night to his hometown of Manoguayabo, west of the capital, where 10 orchestras will welcome him.This is the most generous Three Kings Day that our country has had, wrote President Danilo Medina in a letter he sent to Martinez on Tuesday after calling to congratulate him.Martinez finished with a 219-100 record and a 2.93 ERA. He struck out 3,154 batters, twice surpassing 300 in a season. He was an eight-time All-Star, and five times led the majors in ERA. He also won a Cy Young Award with the Montreal Expos.___Follow Ezequiel Abiu Lopez on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Ezequel_Abiu Trevor Hoffman Padres Jersey .cas NHL Play of the Year showdown continues today with a man whos spent most of his career on highlight reels and a goalie actually "reaching back" for a save. Eric Hosmer Jersey . The Rays hope to stay alive for the postseason and salvage the finale of this series Sunday at Rogers Centre, where they dropped a 7-2 decision Saturday. Chris Archer lasted 2 1/3 innings in the no-decision, charged with a run and five hits, and Alex Torres suffered the loss in relief. http://www.padressale.com/padres-manuel-margot-jersey/. You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus. Craig Stammen Padres Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Garrett Richards Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday.OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Baltimore Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith will miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury. Smith hurt his left foot in the first quarter of a game against Cincinnati on Oct. 26. The injury was initially diagnosed as a sprain. But coach John Harbaugh said an examination of the foot Thursday revealed the need for surgery. Harbaugh says, Jimmy is finished for the season, butt will recover for our off-season program.dddddddddddd Smith started all eight games before the injury. He had one interception and 28 tackles. With Smith out last week for the first time, Baltimore gave up 340 yards passing and six touchdown passes to Pittsburghs Ben Roethlisberger in a 43-23 defeat. Now in his fourth season, Smith started all 16 games last year for the first time. ' ' '