Pedro Martinez Memories

[mwonow]

0.7373.  Blows my mind every time I see that number.  Too many memories of his greatness to pick just one, but I'll pick one anyways.  Game 5 vs Cleveland in 1999 is one that always stuck out as he had next to nothing coming into the game and still threw 6 hit-less innings.  Showed what a true maestro he was on the mound.
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE199910110.shtml. 

 
That Cleveland game was my favourite, too. The TV showed the faces of the Cleveland fans as Pedro was warming, and coming in, and pitching. You could see this combination of panic and despair written across the faces of the fans in Cleveland. Everyone knew Pedro wasn't anywhere near 100%, but it didn't matter, he owned the game.
 
Bonus points for the Indians intentionally walking Nomar twice only to see O'Leary homer twice (for 7 RBIs), followed by pitching to Nomar in the 9th and having him double in another run. Which was as cool as things get. But I still think of that as the Pedro game.

 

[JGray38]

OK- so many moments greater than this, but still. You're on your way to Fenway, excited that Pedro is scheduled... And then....Pow! Bryce Florie comes running out of the bullpen, ready to go!

Pedro warming in the bullpen around the 3rd or 4th inning was a sign that some sense that normalcy would return, and he would have his rightful place on the throne again. It just might take an extra inning or 3 on that day.

I think this was all about teaching our diva pitcher that he had to show up on time. But looking back, I dunno. Anytime you limit the right hand of God itself from starting, it looks pretty dumb in hindsight.

 

[ArgentinaSOXfan]

I started following the Red Sox after I visited Boston in 2000. I was a 15 years old kid.
Went to two games. I was about to go to a third game, to catch Pedro (I admit I didnt know much about him since I was starting to follow baseball...).
But the family that hosted us in Rhode Island decided to make a trip to Maine instead of going to Fenway during that weekend.
And I missed this game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200007230.shtml
 
Oh, I did catch one of Ramon' starts.  :gonk:

 

[pantsparty]

I grew up near NYC and Pedro's time with the Sox was while I was in high school and college so I didn't get to see much of him in person. My dad managed to get us tickets to the 1999 All-Star game (thanks for working in TV sports, dad), we were down low along the 1B side. I've never felt anything at a game like the crowd there while Pedro pitched those first two innings.

 

[chrisfont9]

Games I got to attend with Pedro pitching:
 
July 7, 2003 @ New York (arrived just after Jeter got taken to the hospital; around the sixth, somebody in the bleachers started yelling about Dominican fans not speaking English, was definitely there for him being taken to the hospital)
)

I made it to this one on a whim, great seats behind BOS dugout. I saw him in Baltimore a few times, maybe once in Fenway. But at the old Toilet, that was THE place to see him, in all his defiant glory.

 

[glasspusher]

I saw his start in Cleveland right after the 17 strikeout game against the yanks. Amazing. 7th inning, men on 1st and 2nd, 2 outs, wild pitch to Robbie Alomar, the baserunners go to 2nd and 3rd. Goes to a 3-0 count on Alomar, the whole sellout stadium is on him, and strikes Alomar out swinging to end the inning. Damn I wish I had scrounged up to go to ALDS Game 5 that year too.
 
Just got back from Fenway tonight, to see his number retired. First time I've been at the Fens since the mid 1990s (it seems I'm a cooler). Another memory to add. 
 
Thanks, Pedro.

 

[shoebox91]

Just got back to the good ol' south after an awesome long weekend in Cooperstown. It was a thrill to be there for Pedro's induction and certainly something I'll never forget.
 
My favorite in-person Pedro moment was May 18, 2002 at Fenway vs. the Mariners. A buddy of mine and I had flown up from Memphis for the weekend series. It was his first trip to Fenway and Boston in general so I was excited to show him my favorite place on Earth. This game is, of course, famous for the "Immaculate Inning" in the first where Pedro struck out all three hitters (Ichiro, McLemore, Sierra) on a total of 9 pitches. Pedro was awesome that day going 8 innings, struck out 9 I think, and only gave up one run, pretty sure it was a solo homer. I don't remember him walking anyone either. In a word, Pedro.
 
There were so many other things that stuck out about this game besides just the pure Pedro domination. As I said, we were there for the entire weekend series (which the Sox won 2 out of 3 by the way) and on Friday and Sunday we were able to wear shorts and t-shirts. But on this day, the Saturday Pedro game, it was like 40 degrees with icy rain! And the start of the game was delayed, maybe two hours or so. Because of this tons of folks didn't show up at all and I got to sit right at the Sox dugout, first row. It was amazing. I was so close I got to tell Tek to "never do that again" when he tried to steal second and we both cracked up.
 
The most memorable thing happened at the end of the game for me though. I turned to my friend as Uggie recorded the last out and said, "Can this day get any better?"
 
It did.
 
My wife, Cat, called on the phone (she was still down here in the Deep South) and told me that I was gonna be a dad for the first time. (Despite my desperate attempts to name the future child Pedro, my wife resisted.) I went straight to the souvenir store and got a baby Pedro jersey. My friend and I were staying at my folks house in Natick and when we got there that is what I used to tell them that they were going to be grandparents for the first time. They were like "Oh, that's cute. Who's it for?" And I said "your grandchild."
 
I saw Pedro several times throughout the years both at Fenway and on the road but that, for me, was my most special day.

 

[Dick Drago]

Pedro 1999-2000 was unlike anything I've ever seen in baseball.  I remember a game in 2000, he was pitching against Colon in Fenway, it was a great scoreless duel until Carl Everett hit one in the bullpen.  Art Martone wrote a great column the next day; you KNEW Pedro would win.  I was at the Pedro/Clemens duel in 2000, and Bernie Williams almost hit one out to win it in the ninth.  Somehow there was a sense that Pedro got the ball in on his hands JUST enough to keep it in the park.
 
As much acclaim as he gets for the '99 performance against the Indians, his game three gem vs. the Yankees gets forgotten.  It wasn't as dramatic, but at the time it made the series 2-1, and gave the Sox hope.  I heard him talk later about the pain he was in during that game being worse than anything else in any of his starts.  I don't think his fastball was ever as consistently 98-99 MPH after that postseason, even in his brilliant '00.  I also think they masked the injury as a 'back sprain', when it was really the shoulder that was hurt.
 
 
 
I think the past few days have been incredible.  He really seems overwhelmed and blown away but what he has accomplished.  Not sure I've ever seen him less glib and have less of that cocky edge than in his last two speeches.  I really appreciated his humanity in a profound way.  I think he is the most charming charismatic athlete I've ever seen, and it was amazing to see the depth he has inside.

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

Pedro was doing a signing in Cooperstown on Monday and I had the good fortune of shaking his hand. I told him it was an honor to watch him pitch and thanked him for everything he did for Boston.View attachment 1225

 

[Comebacker to Foulke]

I saw him pitch live once. In BAL 4/5/03. Pedro: 8 ip, 1 er, 6 k, 0 bb, ND. Sox lost 2-1 on a Chad Fox WO bb. I remember thinking how regal Pedro looked as he slowly strode off the diamond after each inning. Drove 4.5 hours to see him, and my beloved Sox came up short, but I am grateful I can say today I saw him pitch in person.

Pitch-for-pitch, the best starter ever. And the coolest. Style points matter for me.

 

[LuckyBen]

I never saw Pedro live, but my favorite memory has to be of him pitching against the Indians in 99. I had given up baseball heading into college due to the overtly political and competitive nature of the sport in the South. I was so burnt out on competition that I refused to keep score in friendly golf matches between friends on the university course.

I can remember the smell of the air and the temperature in the room as I watched Pedro dominate a team destined for the World Series. It would later have the same feel of the Patriots winning their first super bowl as a heavy underdog. Pedro brought back those competitive juices and gave me hope against the Yankees. He seemed almost untouchable.

I idolized Bird growing up, but baseball was my true passion. Pedro gave me comfort that my team stood a chance against the best.

 

[Hambone]

I started following the Red Sox after I visited Boston in 2000. I was a 15 years old kid.
Went to two games. I was about to go to a third game, to catch Pedro (I admit I didnt know much about him since I was starting to follow baseball...).
But the family that hosted us in Rhode Island decided to make a trip to Maine instead of going to Fenway during that weekend.
And I missed this game:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200007230.shtml
 
Oh, I did catch one of Ramon' starts.  :gonk:

 
 
With all his great moments, examples like this prove why he's the best. Look at all his success with those line-ups. I'm fairly certain SoSH would explode if the Sox trotted out a lineup like that tomorrow. 
 
Darren Lewis CF
Brian Daubach 1B
Nomar!!!! SS
Ed Sprague 3B
Troy O'Leary LF
Izzy Alantara D-MFing-H
Jason Varitek C
Bernard Gilkey RF
Manny Alexander 2B

 

[E5 Yaz]

Joe Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez have some Pedro memories now
 
http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-kelly-rodriguez-attend-impromptu-pitching-class-with-pedro-martinez/

 

[Valek123]

Joe Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez have some Pedro memories now
 
http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-kelly-rodriguez-attend-impromptu-pitching-class-with-pedro-martinez/

 
I know it's likely a bit PR(the article) but how can the Red Sox not be doing everything possible to maximize the Pedro exposure to their pitchers.  He was a meastro, dear lord increase this exposure in all ways possible from lowest to highest levels of the pitching staffs.
 
PAY THE MAN.  :q:

 

[Al Zarilla]

 
I know it's likely a bit PR(the article) but how can the Red Sox not be doing everything possible to maximize the Pedro exposure to their pitchers.  He was a meastro, dear lord increase this exposure in all ways possible from lowest to highest levels of the pitching staffs.
 
PAY THE MAN.  :q:

Do we know whether or not the Red Sox have made him an offer to do more in the area of pitcher coaching? Or, maybe they think that would be considered an affront on the full time pitching coach (not that it would be something I'd worry about, Pedro is such an icon).

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

Can we talk about what the hell Jim Corsi was doing at Pedro's number retirement ceremony? I can think of two possible explanations:

1. They brought him in so no one would ask what Lou Merloni was doing at Pedro's number retirement ceremony.
2. Curtis Leskanic wasn't available.

 

[chrisfont9]

I saw him pitch live once. In BAL 4/5/03. Pedro: 8 ip, 1 er, 6 k, 0 bb, ND. Sox lost 2-1 on a Chad Fox WO bb. I remember thinking how regal Pedro looked as he slowly strode off the diamond after each inning. Drove 4.5 hours to see him, and my beloved Sox came up short, but I am grateful I can say today I saw him pitch in person.

Pitch-for-pitch, the best starter ever. And the coolest. Style points matter for me.

What were Pedro's numbers in opening day starts? I vividly recall him shutting down the Mariners in Seattle -- the Ichiro, 116-win Mariners, not the shit team of the last decade -- on one opening day. Just blew them away.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

What were Pedro's numbers in opening day starts? I vividly recall him shutting down the Mariners in Seattle -- the Ichiro, 116-win Mariners, not the shit team of the last decade -- on one opening day. Just blew them away.

 
This Opening Day?  They were the Ichiro-less, newly Junior-less, A-Rod led Mariners rather than the 116-win model, but certainly no slouches (91 wins that year).  7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K...typical Pedro performance.
 
Overall, he started seven Opening Days for the Sox and eight overall (one for the Mets in 2005)...his total lines for Opening Day starts: 8 G, 49 IP, 2.76 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 64 K.

 

[smastroyin]

Considering one of those was a 3 inning, 8 R, performance in a pitching duel that wasn't with Chris Carpenter (2.1 IP, 6 R), those are pretty good numbers...

 

[O Captain! My Captain!]

Considering one of those was a 3 inning, 8 R, performance in a pitching duel that wasn't with Chris Carpenter (2.1 IP, 6 R), those are pretty good numbers...

 
Wow, I hadn't remembered at all that Carpenter was a Blue Jay, though not much of one. The Cards really picked him up off the scrap heap to get 6-8ish really good years out of him around a few injury-truncated ones.

 

[chrisfont9]

 
This Opening Day?  They were the Ichiro-less, newly Junior-less, A-Rod led Mariners rather than the 116-win model, but certainly no slouches (91 wins that year).  7 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K...typical Pedro performance.
 
Overall, he started seven Opening Days for the Sox and eight overall (one for the Mets in 2005)...his total lines for Opening Day starts: 8 G, 49 IP, 2.76 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 64 K.

Thanks for compiling.

 

[grsharky7]

I was at the 9/10/99 game in Yankee Stadium where he struck out 17 and only gave up the HR to Chili Davis.  Total domination, I remember when he struck out Strawberry in the 9th inning, he had no chance.  The final out of the game was when he stuck out Knoblauch, Knobby literally swung when the ball was in Tek's mitt.  We were in the upper deck in right field and I remember thinking there was no way Knoblauch was that far behind the pitch, but when I got to see the game on ESPN Classic years later and sure enough he was that far behind.  Just so much domination that night, the subway ride back to midtown was a little dicey as I recall.  
 
 
I went to about 20-25 games during the Pedro years (live in western PA so its a trip to see the Sox no matter where they play) and thats the only time I got to see him in person, but it was so worth it.  

 

[reggiecleveland]

I never saw him live. His best days were pre MLBtv but him knocking down matsui in game 4 in my favorite memory. He really did not have (relative to the god he was) lot left at that point, but he still understood competition and intimidation.

 

[The Tax Man]

Lisa Carney returns to wax nostalgically about Pedro and points out what really made him special.
 
 

On Sunday, July 26, our beloved Pedro was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and subsequently, number 45 was retired high above, on the Fenway facade already dotted with heroes and memories. After all, who sees 27 and doesn’t immediately want to hop up and start waving on imaginary home runs? Who sees 14 and doesn’t grin while recollecting the line drive machine who invented the Fenway laser show? And 8? Well for a lot of us still walking the Nation, he was our entire childhood.