Sports Q: What are your top-5 favorite Pedro Martinez games?
With proper research, you could probably pull together Pedro's Top 50.
Related Links
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, and email. He’ll pick one each weekday to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.
What are your top-five Pedro Martinez games? – Brian F.
You know, we could probably pull together a Top 50 Pedro Performances with the proper research here. I mean, the guy did go 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA in his seven seasons (1998-2004) with the Red Sox, dominating in the performance-enhancing drug era while possessing a charisma that made every start a must-watch. Man, he left the Red Sox more than 15 years ago, and I still miss watching him pitch.
But we’ll keep it to a top-five today, and I’m going to ignore Brian’s suggested caveat that we exclude the 1999 All-Star Game. That should count, and it’s not my favorite anyway. Here’s my top-five:
1. Game 5 of the 1999 American League Division Series vs. the Indians. Pedro takes the mound in relief, his shoulder aching from injury and his fastball absent, and no-hits a loaded Indians lineup for six innings. The was the first time the Red Sox had won a playoff series since the 1986 ALCS, and they came back from down 2-0 in the series to do it. That ’99 Sox team didn’t win it all, of course, but it deserves to be beloved.
2. His one-hit, no-walk, 17-strikeout performance against the Yankees in Sept. 1999. Chili Davis’s home run in the second inning was the only New York hit. Other than Kerry Wood’s 20-strikeout one-hitter in 1998, this is the most dominating pitching performance I’ve ever seen, especially considering the opponent and the venue (Yankee Stadium).
3. The 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway. Pedro struck out five of the six hitters he faced: Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Matt Williams. Those five combined to hit 2,151 career home runs. This game loses points because Pedro overextended himself a little bit, developed a sore shoulder, and had a 5.03 ERA in July.
4. Game 3 of the 1999 ALCS versus the Yankees. I’ll take this Pedro-Clemens matchup over the regular season one from May 2000. The stakes were higher, Clemens stunk, and John Valentin’s home run early in that game is one of my favorite memories of that era.
5. Game 3, 2004 World Series versus the Cardinals: Pedro’s last appearance as a member of the Red Sox was a different kind of gem. He wasn’t as dominant or overpowering at this point, but he was masterful against a stacked Cardinals lineup, allowing just three hits in seven innings. The skyward finger point when he left the mound after the last out of the seventh is a perfect final image from his unparalleled Red Sox career.
Obviously, there were some tough cuts from this list, including a 16-strikeout game against the Braves in 1999, and his one-hitter against the Rays (after an early brawl) in 2000. As for an underrated gem, I always think of his third start as a member of the Red Sox, a two-hit, 12-K shutout of a Mariners lineup that featured Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez, and Alex Rodriguez. That shutout lowered his ERA to 0.39, and for me it was the performance that made me realize he may be even more special than we knew. And was he ever.
But what does everyone else think? What are your top-five Pedro Martinez games? I’ll hear you in the comments.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com