Wheaties Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month With New Package Featuring Pitching Great Pedro Martinez

Wheaties is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a new special-edition package honoring Boston Red Sox pitching ace Pedro Martinez. The package was announced today at Fenway Park, and will be available nationally beginning next week. Born in the Dominican Republic, Martinez signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988.

Wheaties is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a new special-edition package honoring Boston Red Sox pitching ace Pedro Martinez. The package was announced today at Fenway Park, and will be available nationally beginning next week. Born in the Dominican Republic, Martinez signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988. He spent the first six years of his career pitching for the Dodgers and Montreal Expos before joining the Red Sox in 1998. In addition to compiling impressive career statistics, the six-time all-star has won three Cy Young Awards and was named MVP of the 1999 All-Star Game. “Our team has been playing great baseball and I’m looking forward to a strong finish,” Martinez said. “It is a great honor to be selected as a Wheaties champion.” “Pedro Martinez is arguably one of the top two or three pitchers in baseball,” said Wheaties Marketing Manager Brian Kittelson. “His pitching accomplishments place him in an elite category. We’re very proud to honor him on the Wheaties box as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.” The images of many of the greatest baseball players of all time from Ruth and Gehrig to Aaron and McGwire have been featured on the fabled orange Wheaties box. Lefty Grove, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin, and Ted Williams are among previous Red Sox players who have appeared on the Wheaties box. Wheaties began its association with sports in the mid-1930s with a sign on the left field wall at Nicollet Park near downtown Minneapolis. General Mills’ broadcast deal with the minor league Minneapolis Millers on WCCO Radio included the large signboard that Wheaties would use to introduce its new ad slogan: “Wheaties—The Breakfast of Champions.” From that rather humble beginning, Wheaties has built a heritage that includes many of the greatest sports figures of all time.