Pedro Martinez

It’s no secret that Pedro Martinez is my favorite baseball player of all time.  I did backflips when the Red Sox traded for him after the 1997 season.  He was coming off a historically dominating season for the lowly Montreal Expos (17-8, 1.90 ERA, with 305 strikeouts), and the Sox desperately needed a top-of-the-line starting pitcher.  A physically slight guy, he had a 97-mph fastball, a devastating curveball, and maybe the greatest change-up ever. Best of all, he was young and seemed like he was entering his prime.

To say that he exceeded all expectations only gives a hint of how phenomenal he actually was.  You could make an argument that his seasons from 1998-2004 (leaving out 2001 due to injury) constitute the greatest stretch of pitching of all time. He had four straight years in which his WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) was under 1, and his .737 WHIP in 2000 is the lowest ever for a single season.  He ranks third all-time in career WHIP, and the top two pitchers both pitched in the early part of the 1900’s.

Statistics only tell part of the story.  He changed the culture of the Red Sox and of Fenway Park.  His starts were events not to be missed.  Often hundreds of Hispanic kids were bused into Fenway from Lawrence and Methuen, most of them waving Dominican flags and pounding on drums.  The atmosphere was electric in a way that it never was when, say, Aaron Sele pitched.  He might be responsible for creating more Red Sox fans than any other player in team history.

Not that he was perfect.  He was petty, vindictive, arrogant, and a world-class holder of grudges.  He could act, at times, worse than a spoiled child.  I think, though, that those negative aspects of his personality made him a better pitcher.  I said before that a great pitcher needs to have a mean streak, and no one was meaner on the mound than Pedro.  He would hit guys for looking at him the wrong way.  He didn’t just want to win.  He wanted to make you feel like you didn’t belong on the same field as him.

His decline has been sad for me to watch.  Age and injury have caught up to him and reduced him to a parody of his former self.  He should have pulled a Koufax, and retired a couple of years ago.  He can’t possibly need the money, and he’s tarnishing his legacy as one of the greatest pitchers of the modern era.

These five games constitute his finest moments in a Red Sox uniform:

5. The 1999 All-Star Game

I’m proud to say that I was there as Martinez struck out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, and Sammy Sosa in the first inning, and Mark McGuire, and Jeff Bagwell in the second.  Unfortunately, he strained his shoulder and had to go on the DL after this.  Maybe the loudest crowd I’ve ever heard at Fenway.

4. May 6, 2000: Tampa Bay 1, Boston 0

Martinez had six strikeouts through the first two innings, and finished with 17.  He scattered six hits (all singles) and lost to human rain-delay Steve Trachsel.  I was so fucking pissed after watching this game I think I drank non-stop for two days.

3. August 29, 2000: Boston 8, Tampa Bay 0

The second-craziest game I’ve ever seen.  Martinez hit the first batter he saw, Gerald Williams, who charged the mound and incited a benches-clearing brawl.  The game devolved into a beanball war with eight ejections.  Tampa Bay pitchers were throwing at Sox players all night long, while Pedro struck out 13 and took a no-hitter into the ninth.  John Flaherty broke it up with a single to lead off the inning.  Of course, in the middle of the game my girlfriend asked me to run an errand for her.  I waited until the Sox were batting, and then drove like a madman to get back before Pedro was on the mound.

2. September 10, 1999: Boston 3, New York Yankees 1

Complete game, one hit allowed, 17 strikeouts, no walks.  Except for one pitch to Chili Davis (which he hit for a home-run), this would be the greatest regular-season performance of all-time.  He absolutely dominated the World Champion Yankees, and in Yankee Stadium, no less.  Martinez struck out eight of the last nine batters.  Before the game I told my girlfriend that I was gonna swing by my friend’s house to watch the first couple of innings.  Of course, once I saw what Martinez was doing there was no way I was gonna leave.  She was pissed that I got home so late, but it was worth it.

1. October 11, 1999: Boston 12, Cleveland 8

The single craziest game I’ve ever seen, and maybe the craziest game ever played.  Martinez got hurt in the first game of this playoff series with the Indians.  The Sox were forced to start Bret Saberhagen in the deciding game, and he got killed.  His replacement, Derek Lowe, didn’t fare much better.  After three innings the Sox were losing 8-7 and it looked like the season was over.  Martinez surprised everyone by coming out of the bullpen to pitch the fourth inning.  No one knew how long he could go, or how effective he would be, but using only his dominating mound presence and a change-up he somehow pitched the most miraculous six innings of no-hit ball ever.  I’ll never forget the looks on the faces in the Cleveland dugout when they saw Martinez coming out of the bullpen: total dejection.  This was also the game in which Indians manager Mike Hargrove intentionally walked Nomar twice in order to pitch to Troy O’Leary.  The result?  O’Leary hit a  grand-slam and a three-run homer.  Like I said, just a fucking crazy game.

(A tip of the hat to retrosheet.org and baseball-reference.com for providing play-by-play and statistical backup.  My memory sure ain’t what it used to be.)