"It's a great moment not only for me and my family, but it's a great moment for the Dominican Republic," Martinez told the crowd at the Clark Sports Center. "My God, I'm thankful. I'm thankful for everything."
Martinez's speech was one of the highlights of the induction of the Class of 2015, which also included Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson and John Smoltz.

"I just made three new brothers," Martinez said. At one point, he turned to Johnson and said, "The Big Unit, my brother from another mother. How much I've enjoyed getting to know you."
Martinez began his speech by saying, "Hola!" and waiting for a reponse and then doing it again.
Johnson, an accomplished photographer, at one point aimed his camera at Martinez, taking snapshots of his friend speaking.
Martinez stumped for another team in Montreal. He also added a reference to his Mets' days: "Queens, I love you, too," Martinez said.
Fans were already in place hours before the ceremony began, plenty wearing "Biggio" Astros jerseys. Multiple packs of Martinez fans chanted his name and clapped in early celebration of his induction. Martinez is only the second player from the Dominican Republic to make the Hall of Fame, joining the great Juan Marichal.
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Randy Johnson takes his turn at the mic as he joins the immortals of baseball.
Fifty-three of the 69 living members of the Hall of Fame were scheduled to be at the ceremony, including the four new ones.
Martinez was a Met and pitched for Boston during one of the most-heated periods of the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry, so he's well-known in the city. He was a three-time Cy Young Award winner and won five ERA titles, too. Only Whitey Ford (.690) has a better career winning percentage among pitchers with at least 200 wins than Martinez (.687).
"The guy was 160 pounds, throwing the ball that hard," said Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, with no small degree of awe, the day before the ceremonies. "He proved that he could pitch."
Martinez's Met days weren't his best days - he was 33-23 with a 3.88 ERA in four injury-plagued seasons - but he helped bring them legitimacy during their most recent era of postseason contention.
Biggio, who was born on Long Island and attended Seton Hall, had 3,060 hits in his 20-year career with the Astros and played multiple positions - catcher, second base and the outfield. He was a seven-time All-Star and won four Gold Gloves at second. He's the only big-league player ever with at least 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 400 steals and 250 homers.
"He was a class act from his very first day in the big leagues," Ozzie Smith said. "Making the transition from catcher to middle infielder, having the success he did, that's a lot of versatility. He did it very well, well enough to make it to the Hall of Fame."
Johnson won 303 games and give Cy Youngs in his 22-year career for six teams - the Expos, Mariners, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Giants. Dominating, nasty and tall, Johnson was one of the most feared pitchers in baseball for years and his 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings is the best in baseball history. Overall, he's second all-time in strikeouts with 4,875, behind only Nolan Ryan.
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John Smoltz (second from l.) shows off his Hall of Fame plaque.
None other than Hall of Famer George Brett marveled at Johnson's transition from wild thrower to canny pitcher with heat.
"He learned how to throw strikes and change speeds and throw that wicked slider," Brett said. "You throw a slider that breaks that much to a lefty, and you're throwing 98-99-100 miles per hour, then you throw that 92 mile-per-hour slider, he was almost unhittable. Like a right-hander facing Goose Gossage in his prime.
"The one thing I had against Goose, I was a left-handed hitter. That made it a little easier. But I don't know of any left-handed hitter who wanted to face Randy Johnson."
In terms of intimidators, Wade Boggs said Ryan was No. 1, Johnson was No. 2. "I'm just glad everybody wasn't 6-10 or I wouldn't be here today," said Boggs.
Smoltz, the former Brave, did it all on the mound, winning the 1996 National League Cy Young Award as a starter and then morphing into a reliever when Atlanta needed a closer. Smoltz is the first pitcher in history with at least 200 wins and 150 saves and made eight All-Star games.

"To be as good as he was in two different roles, starter and reliever, I think it says a lot about his ability and his mentality that he was able to do both roles so well," former Braves' teammate Tom Glavine said.
It was a big class for pitchers, with three heavyweights going in. Asked how he'd like to play for a team with Martinez, Johnson and Smoltz in the rotation, Boggs lit up.
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