62 replies to this topic

[Marbleheader]

So, we're clearing out a lot of old VCR tapes that haven't been watched in years. I've been playing the ones that the labels have come off of. Some are random Sox games over the years, nothing terribly exciting. Then I hit play on one of the few remaining unlabeled tapes. It's the introductions to the 1998 ALDS. Jaret Wright against Pedro Martinez. Daytime baseball at the Jake. I was stuck listening at work, so I had set a tape at home. Lewis singles, Valentin singles. Mo clears the bases. Pedro about to give the fans somethining they hadn't seen since the mid-80's, a playoff win.

My mind wanders during the commercial breaks and I see the '15 Years Ago Today' thread. All I can think is, 'ten years'. It's been 10 damn years since Pedro suited up for the first time. Google tells me, his first spring start with Boston was March 6, 1998. This a a picture from that outing.



You look at the pitcher and wonder if he knew what he was in for. Even more, did we have any idea what we were in for?

Pedro sits the side down in order in the first.

I worked at the MFA and would walk over to the park to try to grab a seat and watch a game. It didn't take long before Pedro starts were the fuel that got me though the week. Seeing Pedro against the A's this week, it's a good week.

The acquisition of Pedro certainly made headlines. However, until I acually got to see him perform on a regular basis, it didn't hit me just what we had.

How different the club was before he arrived, and how that compares to this team, the franchise and the fans of the 2007 World Champions.

It was fun to watch, it still is.

[mabrowndog]

I'll go out on a limb and proclaim this a main board-worthy topic.

[The Four Peters]

I'm sure this has been rehashed by many, but I must add my thoughts.

To think that Pedro's beginning with the Sox was 10 years ago really startled me. The team and the fans have come so far, and gone through so much, in that time. While I can honestly say I didn't have an inkling what we would get out of him at the time, I don't think anyone can say they expected what followed.

Despite the petty crap he would bring upon the team every once in a while, or watching him be an "average, un-Pedro-like" pitcher the last couple years, my memories are focused on the vibe and atmosphere around the region whenever he would pitch from 98-02. "Pedro's pitching" was an acceptable answer to "What are the plans for tonight?"

Lastly, I find it fascinating that his contract extension signed when reaching the Sox should probably go down as the perfect contract ever. He was one of the highest paid pitchers in the game for a seven-year span. The Sox got one of the top 5 pitching peaks ever, as well as an engaging and popular personality. Both side should have been completely and utterly satisfied with contract in total. That always fascinated me, and summed up the essence of Pedro. "Everyone came away happy". Except the opposing team, of course.

Marbleheader, thanks for brightening up my night.

[jacklamabe65]

And thank God his last game pitching in a boston uniform was a Game 3 gem in the World Series - with the clincher the following evening.

[amh03]

I had an encounter with Pedro years ago that I'll never forget. I was at the ballpark early - they weren't letting ticket holders in yet, so I was hanging around the corner of Van Ness & Yawkey Way. Pedro pulled up and into the players parking lot - the last one to arrive. All the professional autograph seekers had gone. So, I was the only one there asking if he'd sign for me. He looked around to make sure there was no one else around and came over to sign my hat (that was all I had). I thanked him and told him he was the best and he asked "Why, because I am giving you an autograph?" I said no - because you're the best pitcher I've ever seen at Fenway. He looked at me and said "I'm not the best you've ever seen". I said - yea, I thought he was. And he said "nope - Roger Clemens is the best pitcher you've ever seen here at Fenway".

[mabrowndog]

What I remember most is how much excitement and promise his acquisition and subsequent debut generated. The 1997 season, the first following Roger's departure, had been such an abomination for the pitching staff. Consider that the bright spots were Wakefield's adequate season (12-15, 4.25) and opening day starter (!!!) Tom Gordon putting up a 3.59 ERA in 25 outings. Meanwhile Aaron Sele, Jeff Suppan, Steve Avery, Wayback Wasdin, Vaughn Eshelman & Bret Saberhagen combined for a 5.72 ERA over 92 starts. It had been the swan song for Heathcliff Slocumb (which sent Gordon into the closer's role in spite of his track record as a starter). Big chunks of bullpen time belonged to the likes of Mark Brandenburg (31 G, 5.49) and Chris Hammond (29 G, 5.92). And who the hell were Ricky Trilicek and Kerry Lacy, and how the hell did they amass 70 relief innings that season?

Pedro made us forget all about that.

[GoWhalers]

Now I'm not as old as some of you on this board, I was only 10 in 1997 but goddamn if Pedro wasn't something unreal. I remember that throughout middle school I'd be doing my homework every night with the red sox games on the radio in my room listening to Pedro throw gems and this new shortstop come and light the world on fire.

Pedro completely messed up my frame of reference as a young baseball fan. It took me a little while to realize that a 3.50 era doesn't suck and a 1.80 era isn't good, it's absolutely unreal. Just looking at the stats from those years is completely insane, dude threw almost a 300 ERA+ as a goddamn starter. I hear people talk about how great Koufax or Gibson were, or how hard Radatz threw a billion miles an hour. Pedro's going to be my mythological hero for years and years to come.

[JohntheBaptist]

I love looking at those sleeves he used to cut along the underside.

I was actually thinking today that I'll never really become attached to a baseball player again like I was (still pretty much am, actually) with him. Not only was he so easy to become attached to, and not only am I now entirely too old to do so, but there was very much a time and place element to the Pedro thing. It's like when all those Crystal-types wax about "seeing The Mick play." Watching Pedro pitch... there was and is nothing like it.

All that being said, the fact that that trade happened ten years ago is really bugging me out. That's astounding.

Edited by JohntheBaptist, 05 March 2008 - 01:07 AM.

[Punchado]

I remember thinking, "Really? I mean, really, the Red Sox got him?" It just seemed unfathomable that a deal like this would go down and the Red Sox come out with the best player. Just didn't happen.

That was nothing compared to actually seeing him pitch, though -- against a lot of guys who we now know were cheating.

[gars finnvold]

I agree with the "Oh my God, we really got him" feeling when the trade happened, but what capped it was when the Duke then signed him to the seven year deal.

[FenwayWhalers]

Now I'm not as old as some of you on this board, I was only 10 in 1997 but goddamn if Pedro wasn't something unreal. I remember that throughout middle school I'd be doing my homework every night with the red sox games on the radio in my room listening to Pedro throw gems and this new shortstop come and light the world on fire.

Pedro completely messed up my frame of reference as a young baseball fan. It took me a little while to realize that a 3.50 era doesn't suck and a 1.80 era isn't good, it's absolutely unreal. Just looking at the stats from those years is completely insane, dude threw almost a 300 ERA+ as a goddamn starter. I hear people talk about how great Koufax or Gibson were, or how hard Radatz threw a billion miles an hour. Pedro's going to be my mythological hero for years and years to come.

You were only 10 when the Whalers moved? Way to carry the torch!

(Sorry I had to)

[PedroisGod]

Although I wasn't really introduced to Pedro until around 1999 or 2000, and became a Red Sox fan shortly after, I can share a story about 1997. Not too long ago, I was reading archives from the New York Times, and there were trade rumors from the offseason of 1997/1998 and I came across a ton of rumors that reported the Yankees and Blue Jays as possible front runners to acquire Pedro, and it got me thinking; What if this had actually happened?

Not only would my personal allegiances be different, and I'd probably be wearing a Jays hat or even a Yankees hat right now, but baseball and Red Sox history as we know it would never have taken place. I don't think there would be any 2003 ALCS run, or 2004 WS, and it's possible there'd be no 2007 WS. I don't think it's too often that one player has such a profound impact on one franchise.

Edited by PedroisGod, 05 March 2008 - 02:44 AM.

[sonsoftrotnixon]

Pedro brought me back to baseball. Hard to believe it's been 10 years. While I had been a fan for years, I found myself only casually following the team in the 90's. I don't know whether it was poor front-office management, ownership, or whatnot, but for several years in the early 90's I just read the box scores and watched the standings without paying too close attention. Pedro was the first player to impact my "fandom" in such a way as I couldn't wait for the team to get back on the field so I could watch him pitch.

[LoweTek]

I hear people talk about how great Koufax or Gibson were, or how hard Radatz threw a billion miles an hour. Pedro's going to be my mythological hero for years and years to come.

As Radatz was for many of us except he pitched for a team with a winning percentage of .382 with a .251 team batting average. When folks like me, JackLamabe65, 67WasBest, Since67, Stiffy and the other older members speak fondly of (I'll stick to pitchers) names like LaMabe, Monbouquette, Radatz, Moorehead, Earl, Rohr, Bucky, Lonborg, Santiago, Bell, Tiant, Wise, Jenkins, Space, Stange, Hurst, Stanley, etc. this is why. It's somehow heartwarming and reassuring to see you younger guys expressing fond remembrance for a time gone past.

[Jimbodandy]

Thanks MH and TFP for reminding me what it was like to plan the whole week around Pedro's starts.

I think that we all knew that he was a great pitcher when the deal was done, but seeing his starts in person in early '98 was something else. The aura he had about him, the confidence, was amazing. You knew that every start could be something that we've never seen before.

He never had that no-hitter or 20K night that others have, but he put together a run of dominant starts unlike anything that I had ever seen. And some of those individual performances (ALDS game 5, the Tampa game, the Yankee game) were at least as dominant as some of the no-hitters that we've seen around here.

Good times.

[AlNipper49]

The biggest testament to how big Pedro was for us was when we (LTF and another friend of ours) were in New Orleans probably 5 or 6 years ago now. We had drunk about 20 beers the night before. The next morning we could barely walk much less eat, talk normally or look at a beer without wanting to throw it through a window.

But we woke up at 9am to start asking around for a place to watch the afternoon game that day that Pedro was pitching. I think it was against some crap team like KC, but there was no way we were going to miss a Pedro start. It actually took us a few hours to find a place and we were the only schmucks in the place.

[Cumberland Blues]

I'm very much a baseball on the radio guy. I got cable (and later a dish when we moved to the sticks) cuz Pedro was must see TV. I unplugged the dish when he left.

[RoyHobbs]

Pedro's a provider of one of those "I remember where I was when..." moments in my life.

The 17-K gem against the Yankees = sitting on my old p.o.s. college-hand-me-down couch in my first dumpy apartment in Derry, NH, the glow of the TV, my jaw agape, shouting in joy. I don't remember much from my life but the senses from that evening are still vivid. I can close my eyes and see the whole scene, and in the middle is Pedro hurling away.

Good times. Old times. Missed times.

ADD: Oh god!, and the Ice Williams game. I had to follow the last innings in my car in the garage for some reason. I sat out there in the dark in my Nissan Sentra until fucking Flaherty wrecked it. Nostalgia.

Edited by RoyHobbs, 05 March 2008 - 12:26 PM.

[norm from cheers]

When I think of Pedro, I will always think of the '99 All Star Game. What a magical night at Fenway for many reasons as a Red Sox Fan and Pedro set the tone from the get-go.




Sorry, not savvy enough to do the link thing.

[Larry Gardner]

And who the hell were Ricky Trilicek and Kerry Lacy, and how the hell did they amass 70 relief innings that season?

Hey Dog, I was living in the Detroit area at the time, and on 6/13/97, my 40th B-day, I flew to Shea to see the 1st ever interleague game. If I remember correctly, Kerry Lacy got the save that night..........I think I remember him wearing #53..

[WoburnDiaspora]

When I think of Pedro, I will always think of the '99 All Star Game. What a magical night at Fenway for many reasons as a Red Sox Fan and Pedro set the tone from the get-go.


Sorry, not savvy enough to do the link thing.

It was a magical night at Fenway. However, this is the game where I officially started hating the All-Star game. Pedro went out there and gave it everything he had and then was hurt almost the rest of the year.

of course, he did pitch that brilliant game against Cleveland in the playoffs that year coming out of the bullpen after being hurt.

[NomarRS05]

I was 13 when I attended Pedro's first Fenway start as a Red Sox in April of 1998. He struck out 12 batters in a complete game shutout as The Red Sox beat the Mariners 5-0. By the fifth inning, the place had become electric over what Pedro was doing that afternoon and what he might do over the next few years. He soon K'd the 1,000th batter of his career and we gave him a five-minute standing ovation. The dominican flags were waving, K signs were going up everywhere, and I had never seen anything like it before, not in April.

He is likely to be my Sandy Koufax, the guy who I will say was the greatest pitcher I've ever seen when my grandkids ask.

[Skiponzo]

I'd just like to add this. "Pedro, I saw Roger Clemens pitch at Fenway....he's no Pedro Martinez".

[amh03]

I'd just like to add this. "Pedro, I saw Roger Clemens pitch at Fenway....he's no Pedro Martinez".

I actually did reply back to him that perhaps for longevity, Clemens might be the best, but for finesse I thought Pedro had him beat...

[Spacemans Bong]

My favorite player. Will always BE my favorite player. Hell, I started rooting for the Mets a little bit because of him, which was like another gift because the Mets have been an exciting and interesting team to follow.

Pedro is the guy who more than anybody else locked me into being a Red Sox fan. I was 13 in '98 and had been trading off the Giants (my local team) and the Red Sox (my parents' team) for a couple of years. I always loved pitching, and my favorite players were always the pitchers. Roger was it, then he left. Pedro came in and he was transcendent and I was captivated.

What I remember about Pedro starts was that you savored them, and you anticipated them. A good Pedro start could last a day, a great Pedro start two or even three days. It was like eating out at the best restaurant in town, or going to a great show - you're still thinking of that steak or that song. You were thinking of how he froze Jeter inside on a changeup or got Giambi on a high one. Likewise, if it was two days before his start, you thought about it. A day before his start, and you almost wanted the game to end as quickly as possible so there'd be less time before he pitched. It was an event.

I heard Vin Scully say that when Koufax came out of the bullpen at Dodger Stadium, he was applauded the way a symphony conductor was. Pedro was the same, on the road or at Fenway Park. He should have come out in tails.

[Foulkey Reese]

I always liked this entry on survivinggrady.com

All Good Things...


I miss him already.

Miss the swagger. The head pointing. The drama queen antics. The Great Zim Toss of 2003.

The Yoda mask. The spastic dance moves. The dugout cheerleading. The horrific jheri curls. "Wake up the Bambino and maybe I'll drill him in the ass."

He had a heart as big as your Aunt Selma and a body that seemed vulnerable to the slightest breeze. But when he got on that mound, man, all he was missing was the cape. And some nights, he even had that.

His rules were simple. The inside of the plate is mine. Thou shalt plunk my teammates at your own risk. The ball you hit over the wall this inning could be the ball that gets wedged up your south 40 next inning. So think about it, punk.

My two favorite Pedro moments provide splendid bookends to his remarkable tenure in Boston. The first is in 1999, when he reversed the tide of the ALDS, coming in against a Cleveland team that was beating the tar out of the ball and rendering them completely inoperative. In those days, the salad days, he was the angel of death. And on that October night, with a packed house in Cleveland going apeshit and tasting Red Sox blood, the bullpen door swung open, a slight figure ambled out of it, and an eerie silence descended. Because Pedro was coming into the game. And that was like flipping a switch. Over and out.

More recently, during Game five of the ALCS, Petey made perhaps his boldest statement when he came up and in on Hideki Matsui, knocking him on his ass and effectively taking his bat -- which to that point had become Thor's Hammer -- out of the series.

He was a gamer. He was a warrior. He was controversial. He was beloved.

And now he's a New York Met.

And suddenly there's great concern regarding the Sox' 2005 rotation. A rotation anchored on Schilling and the ankle.

I have faith that Theo will make everything right. I know he will.

But for now, I'm just missing our l'il Dominican buddy. And wishing him well.

That bolded quote has always stuck with me for some reason.

Edited by Foulkey Reese, 05 March 2008 - 03:57 PM.

[drleather2001]

Yea, I will always be thankful for having Pedro on the Red Sox during his glory years.

As someone else said, he brought me back to baseball. I fell out of touch with the sport throughout much of high school, only going to a game here and there but never investing myself in it. But in 1998, during my freshman year of college in New Jersey, surrounded by high-on-the-hog Yankees fans, Pedro was often the only equalizer. The Yankees had the WS championships, but the Sox had Pedro, and he was the only thing...the ONLY thing...that Yankees fans were afraid during their run.

When he pitched, Pedro was Wellington to Steinbrenner's Napoleon, and you knew the good guys were going to win that night.

Edited by drleather2001, 05 March 2008 - 04:12 PM.

[Soxfan in Fla]

I was at the infamous Tampa game. Ironically I did something that night that I had not done since I was a kid. I kept score during the game. Still have the scorecard. It was really the most bizarre game I have ever seen, brawl on the 2nd pitch of the game, 3 more brawls (I think) after that, guys repeatedly throwing at Dauber, 7 or 8 Rays getting tossed and, heck even Crazy Carl nearly hit for the cycle in that game. Through all the insanity of that game Pedro just kept going out there inning after inning seemingly unfazed by everything going on around him and just mowed down batter after batter. Considering how bizarre that game was it was truly one of the greatest performances ever to stay focused through all the crap that went on in that game and end up 1 out away from a no-hitter. The 3B side of the Trop had a Fenway like buzz to it from the 6th inning on.

[Soxfan in Fla]

BTW, have not seen it mentioned but who on earth could ever forget the 6 perfect innings out of the pen in game 5 of the 99 LDS after injuring himself in Game 1 of that series. Cleveland fans were rocking the Jake that night until they saw Pedro come out of the pen. They knew it was over right then.

[Jimbodandy]

BTW, have not seen it mentioned but who on earth could ever forget the 6 perfect innings out of the pen in game 5 of the 99 LDS after injuring himself in Game 1 of that series. Cleveland fans were rocking the Jake that night until they saw Pedro come out of the pen. They knew it was over right then.

I mentioned that game, the Tampa game, and the Yankee game, as these are the three Games that need little explanation. I haven't watched game 5 in a while, but IIRC the park began to quiet as the Cleveland fans realized that Pedro was warming in the pen. Overall, his 1999 season was the most impressive pitching performance that I have ever seen. He came back and actually outperformed himself in 2000, but the combination of outstanding dominance and the dramatics of the ASG and especially the ALDS clincher will never be forgotten.


edit: adding ERA+ link. He is the only one with three top-20 seasons.

http://www.baseball-...us_season.shtml

Edited by Jimbodandy, 05 March 2008 - 06:03 PM.

[JimBoSox9]

It was a magical night at Fenway. However, this is the game where I officially started hating the All-Star game. Pedro went out there and gave it everything he had and then was hurt almost the rest of the year.

You know what? I wouldn't trade that night for anything. I've been in the stands for playoffs, for world series, for record-setting performances, classic games, and lunatic brawls, and I'll stack that night up against any of it. The all-time team, Teddy Ballgame, and Pedro's two innings, the atmosphere was simply beyond my ability to describe. Short of Busch Stadium during/after Game 4, 2004, that may have been the best experience I've had at a ballpark.

[wyatt55]

I was blessed to have been in the park for Game 3 in the 2004 World Series. Pete didn't have the 97 MPH heater anymore, but you were damned if you could figure out whether his coming pitch was going to be 91 or 82. After the OF assist by Manny and Suppan's stellar baserunning, Pedro made the Cards look flat out foolish. 13 in a row. 13! Simply masterful performance. What a way to finish. I'll always love that goofy, goggle wearing SOB.

Martinez, P. W (1-0) 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB 6 Ks.

I also loved Pedro's bench-jockeying. It almost seemed like he was channelling Luis Tiant.

As an aside, it was returning from this WS Game that I got my first taste of what the Sox comeback vs. the Yanks and imminent Championship meant, cosmically. Walking through DFW airport, I received my first Yankee fan blatantly avoiding eye contact. I thought "So THIS is what it feels like . . ."

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

You know what? I wouldn't trade that night for anything. I've been in the stands for playoffs, for world series, for record-setting performances, classic games, and lunatic brawls, and I'll stack that night up against any of it. The all-time team, Teddy Ballgame, and Pedro's two innings, the atmosphere was simply beyond my ability to describe. Short of Busch Stadium during/after Game 4, 2004, that may have been the best experience I've had at a ballpark.

And it's not like the ASG made Pedro less effective down the stretch that year.

Per-ASG ERA: 2.10
Post-ASG ERA: 2.01

He had a rough July because he got hammered his first start after the ASG and then went on the DL, which most attributed to the ASG. But when he came back after that he was even better than before: 4-1, 1.80 ERA in August; 4-0, 0.86 ERA in September.

Interesting thing about Game 5 in '99; I have the game on DVD and re-watched it a little while ago. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the crowd in CLE did NOT get quiet when Pedro got warmed up and came into the game; far from it. They jeered and cheered when he came in because they figured the Sox were desperate and Pedro was still hurt. It took about 2 innings for the silence to descend on Jacobs field that night.

[Cumberland Blues]

One of my alltime favorite baseball moments was in that Game 5 when Sandy Alomar tried to throw Pedro off his game by callling time to re-tie his shoes after a 2-out walk. Pedro just just chuckling over his shoulder at him....then proceeding to strike out Dave Roberts to end the inning. Yummy goes yard again in the top half and the game was over.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

One of my alltime favorite baseball moments was in that Game 5 when Sandy Alomar tried to throw Pedro off his game by callling time to re-tie his shoes after a 2-out walk. Pedro just just chuckling over his shoulder at him....then proceeding to strike out Dave Roberts to end the inning. Yummy goes yard again in the top half and the game was over.

I remember that well. Pedro gave him a look and then shook his head. They both were laughing; even Alomar knew how fruitless that attempt to throw Pedro off really was.

[DLew On Roids]

My strongest memory of the Pedro acquisition was the Duke's line, "The Red Sox are back open for business," or something like that. I thought at the time, "They were ever in business?" It's hard to remember now that the Sox are players in any free agent market they want, but until then the Sox never brought in big names from outside the organization. Even when they tried to bring in big-time players, they inevitably acquired guys like Matt Young. Yeesh. So 1998 wasn't just the start of the Pedro Era, it was the start of the Red Sox being serious about acquiring premium talent and competing for championships every year.

[yep]

Saying I watched Pedro pitch in his prime will be like grampa talking about watching Ted Williams.

It's kind of weird to think that he is still an active player, in any uniform. It is hard to reconcile that Pedro Martinez is that same person as that guy. I somehow kind of percieve him as Pedro Jr or something, like some nominal, competent heir to an otherworldly genius that lived mostly in myth but whom I somehow once met and whose arm I somehow touched, which I did, even though I was too old to be reaching out just to touch a player's arm at the time.

It seems impossible that that guy who is second on the Mets' rotation is the same person as Pedro. How long does it take for the human body to completely regenerate itself? Is it seven years that I heard somewhere? That seems about right. Pedro has become dust now. Some other guy made in his image and bearing his name and some of the crude, outward characteristics of his talent pitches for the mets, like a robot made to play Mozart.

[TFisNEXT]

I did not truly appreciate Pedro until the 2002 season, when he had lost just a tick or two on his FB. I had taken for granted his first several years here, not quite realizing that he was the reason an otherwise mediocre team was a playoff contender. But in 2002, I saw him thinking "my god, he is not quite what he was, but the damn guy is still the best pitcher in the game anyway".

But I'll still never forget his peak either. I remember watching him strike out 16 Rays in early 2001 at the home opener. That was when we'd all say "what was up with Pedro tonight?" when allowed 3 runs in 7 innings instead of saying what a great game he pitched. If there was ever a period where one player was more of an attraction than the rest of the team while still contending for the playoffs, that was it.

[TFisNEXT]

I mean, are you freaking kidding me? His numbers compared to those of his peers are STUPID. I only wish I had been just a bit older so that I appreciated how special this guy was.

Pedro still holds the MLB record for best single season WHIP despite having it occur in the heart of the steroid era (2000 season). Beats all the one's from the deadball eras. Only Maddux comes remotely close in the last 40 years.

http://www.baseball-...IP_season.shtml

He sneaks in 3 more times in the top 60, and almost all of his competition is the dead ball years. Unbelievable.



Career WHIP:


http://www.baseball-...IP_career.shtml

[Joe Sixpack]

Pedro Martinez 2000 game log

In my mind that was the greatest single season ever for a pitcher.

[Dogman2]

I remember thinking he had a chance after about 40% of the season and his ERA was less the 1.00. I don't ever think Gibson's record will be broke, but Pedro gave it one hell of a run.

[CPT Neuron]

Pedro single-handedly re-ignited my passion for the Sox. I loved the team growing up in New England, but fell away from the team after becoming a "Military Brat". I still ached in 86, don't get me wrong, and I really enjoyed Nomar when he first arrived, but when Duke got Pedro, my interest was piqued again. The utter mastery he displayed is something that is truely once in a lifetime. He dominated all aspects of the game - the skills, the knowledge, the intensity, and every piece of the mental "cat v. mouse" game that pitchers and hitters routinely play with each other. In short, my man crush for Pedro knew (and probably still knows) no bounds. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch Manny and Papi in the box, but watching Pedro on the mound was like getting the chance to watch one of the great Renaissance artists work. In some ways, it saddens me to see him relegated to the shell-of-the former Pedro the Great now, but I still love to watch the character that is Pedro and fondly remember that I (we) had the chance to see one of THE ALL TIME GREATS work, and work for the team I (we) love and follow with an OCD-like behavior pattern.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Pedro Martinez 2000 game log

In my mind that was the greatest single season ever for a pitcher.

Look at those games that he lost:

0-1 (K'd 17)
2-3
0-3
1-2
3-5
1-2

48 IP, 13 ER, 8 BBs, 60Ks in the games he lost. 2.43 ERA in his losses.

That's just insane. He could easily have gone 21-3.

[ShaneTrot]

Look at those games that he lost:

0-1 (K'd 17)
2-3
0-3
1-2
3-5
1-2

48 IP, 13 ER, 8 BBs, 60Ks in the games he lost. 2.43 ERA in his losses.

That's just insane. He could easily have gone 21-3.

That 0-1 game in 2000 is the infamous Steve Trachsel game. Trachsel held the Sox to 3 hits and K'd 11. I seem to remember the day before this game CHB giving the Rays no shot.

Check out the Sox line up for that game:

1. Jose Offerman 2b
2. Trot Nixon rf
3. Brian Daubach 1b
4. Carl Everett cf
5. Troy O'Leary lf
6. Mike Stanley dh
7. Jason Varitek C
8. Manny Alexander 3b
9. Andy Sheets SS

I almost forgot how thin the lineups used to be before 2003. Yikes.

[The Four Peters]

norm from cheers posted the link earlier, but I'll embed it:

'99 All-Star Game:

The 97 MPH heater that he throws to strike out Larry Walker is one of my favorite pitches ever (it's at the 1:20 mark in the first inning). I mean, Pudge doesn't even move the mitt a centimeter. Right on the black. The control Pedro had was out of this world.

I'm not disagreeing that the Walker pitch was awesome, but the change to finish off Larkin is out of this world. He fooled Pudge a little bit too, and he even knew it was coming. Larkin was already facing the dugout by the time it hit the mitt.

Either way, that just made my day. Thanks Corsi.

[BoSox Rule]

Looking at the Game Log of his first start in 2000 is kind of funny. He only threw just over half of his pitches for strikes but still only gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, 0 runs, and struck out 11. That season was just silly. His WHIP for the season was only over .83 once.

Somebody mentioned this earlier and I remember thinking the same exact thing. I was 10-11 years old for the 1999-2000 seasons and I remember thinking that anybody that had an ERA over 3.00 just wasn't a great pitcher.

[ngruz25]

I'm not disagreeing that the Walker pitch was awesome, but the change to finish off Larkin is out of this world. He fooled Pudge a little bit too, and he even knew it was coming. Larkin was already facing the dugout by the time it hit the mitt.

Either way, that just made my day. Thanks Corsi.

God how I miss that change-up. Larkin, Sosa, McGwire, and Bagwell all take ferocious swings at it and don't even come close. Then he throws the knee-bending curve. Oh, let's not forget the 97-98 mph fastball with pinpoint command. Not fair.

Pedro also struck out the side of the first inning of a game throwing exactly 9 pitches, which I don't think has been done since. I'm trying to find the game.