NEW YORK -- There was no World Series game Tuesday, just a workout before the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees resume play with Game 6 tonight. But that didn't mean there was no entertainment.

All you need is a microphone, Yankee Stadium as the backdrop and Pedro Martinez live and on stage.

Thank goodness the World Series stretched this far for the first time since 2003 to give us one more -- and maybe the last -- glimpse at Martinez, who suggested before and after his Game 2 start that he is ''at times the most influential player that ever stepped in Yankee Stadium'' and ''if I was on the Yankees, I would probably be like a king over here.''

So without further ado, Pedro Martinez ...

''I don't want to die and then hear everybody say, 'Oh, there goes one of the best players ever,' '' Martinez said during his required meeting with reporters Tuesday that he seemed to enjoy as much as the media loved taking it all in. ''If you're going to give me props, just give them to me right now.''

Don Zimmer might disagree, but Martinez is good for baseball and even better for the World Series.

He's not the best pitcher in this Series. Not even the best pitcher on his staff anymore. But he's the kind of character the game needs. He's the kind of character that will be missed when he finally decides to walk away -- a decision that could come in the next few weeks.

Martinez, 38, got rolling when he was asked if fans 60 years from now will remember him the way they remember Babe Ruth. The question was obviously a stretch because, as good as Martinez has been during his career -- 219-100 in the regular season -- he's no Babe Ruth.

But he is a Ruthian character.

''I'm hoping to get my name mentioned, yes, just like Babe Ruth is such a legendary name,'' Martinez said. ''I hope that my name is mentioned. But not only as a player. I hope you guys realize that I'm a human being that really likes to help, that really likes to do things in the community, that's a fun human being and a great competitor. That's probably my legacy. I don't want to just leave a legacy in baseball and be a horse[bleep] human being. I'm sorry about the word.

''I hope I can be remembered more as a human being who'd take his clothes off to probably give it to a man down the street. I don't mind doing that any time.''

When he takes the mound tonight, a fully clothed Martinez will try to keep the Phillies' hopes alive for another day. The defending World Series champions trail the Yankees 3-2 in the Series. But he also will be savoring every moment.

You get the idea Martinez would love to someday wear Yankees pinstripes. The next best thing is facing them in the World Series.

''I would just have to actually thank God,'' Martinez said. ''Just see two old goats out there doing the best they can and having fun with it.''

Martinez was talking about himself and Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, who somehow will be opposing each other for the first time in the postseason.

This would've been a matchup of aces a decade ago. Now, it's a time when both bullpens will be waiting for the phones to ring early.

Even though the Yankees would've preferred to have ended this Series by now, you get the impression they're getting a kick out of another round with Martinez.

''Me and Derek [Jeter] were talking about it in the clubhouse last night, just how strange this is, after all the battles with him being in Boston,'' Pettitte said. ''To come full circle, this many years have passed, him with the Phillies and me back over here and stuff like that, it's going to be neat.''

Martinez couldn't step in Yankee Stadium -- even if it's the new place -- without addressing the Red Sox. He was asked about Johnny Damon, his former Red Sox teammate who now plays left field for the Yankees, and let out a little laugh.

''He's a big-game player, a great player, a great human being,'' Martinez said. ''In some ways, I'm glad I got to face him to realize how uncomfortable the other guys were feeling when he played with me. He's a tough out.''

Just a mention of the Red Sox brought up a question about how Boston fans likely will be standing behind Martinez tonight for obvious reasons.

''I know that they don't like the Yankees to win,'' he said with a grin, ''not even in Nintendo games.''

Martinez, who in April was not sure he would throw another pitch in the majors, is having the time of his life. And he's taking us all along for the ride.