(St. Pete, Oktoberfest 10, 2000) His ERA was more than 2 runs lower than anyone else. (Last year it was a run and a half.) He set the record for lowest batting average against. Led the league in strikeouts for the second straight year. This guy's so far ahead of everyone else it's not even funny.

PEDRO BESTS CLEMENS in EARLY BATTLE for FIRST

Martinez Masterful in
5-1 Win Over Braves

(Boston, June 5, 1999) In the first interleague meeting of '99, nine years to the day after big bro' Ramon struck out 18 Braves, the maestro Pedro Martinez struck out 16 and brought his league-leading numbers to 11-1, 1.91, 133 Ks, 18 BBs. 16 marks a career best - he had two 15 K games last month. He's taking this team where no one thought they would be, and doing it in brilliant style. Barring injury, he will surely start the 1999 All-Star Game in Fenway Park. (Fess up - you thought it would be Roger...)

(Boston, July 30, 1999) One of the game's fiercest competitors, he fires fastballs in the mid-90s. His changeup, the best in the game, is virtually indistinguishable from the fastball. Add a nasty biting curve, and it just ain't fair. This is Pedro Martínez.

(Boston, September 6, 1999) Pedro The Maestro Martinez is, as you have heard, having a year. He is now 20-4 with a 2.26 ERA, 257 K's and only 34 walks in 179 innings. Pitching's rare Triple Crown and his second Cy Young Award are in the crosshairs. And he was benched by Jimy Williams for showing up late... Jimy's a standup guy, a straightshooter. Very respectable. And perhaps as good an overall manager as anyone in the game. Just sayin'.

year   w-l    era    ip     h     k    bb    cg   ShO

'97   17-8   1.90    241   158   305   67    13    4
'99   22-4   2.11    204   154   300   37     5    1

(Boston, September 10, 1999) The Bosox ride into New York 6 games behind the Bronx Bombers, and 3 ahead of Oakland in the race for the Wildcard. In another historical performance, the Maestro Pedro Martínez (21-4, 2.20) has again risen to the occasion. It was a dominating performance, a 1-hitter (Chili Davis' homer in the 2nd inning) against perhaps the best team in baseball. And it was a game - one mistake could have turned the tide, as Andy Pettitte's performance was excellent. The Sox were trailing 1-0, before taking the lead on a two-run homer by (ex-Yankee) Mike Stanley (#17) in the top of the sixth. Knoblauch was the Yank's only other baserunner, grazed by a pitch (??) leading off the bottom of the 1st.

But Pedro was the game. No one had ever fanned 17 Yankees before. His fastball was, of course, overpowering, reaching 97 mph in the 9th, when he fanned the side. He retired the last 22 batters he faced, fanning 12 of the last 15. It was his command of the curveball that made him unhittable. And the pinpoint control of his entire arsenal. 'Sharp' and 'crisp' came to mind while watching Pedro. Everything he throws moves like crazy, and last night, everything went precisely where he willed it. And the hardcore Stadium crowd, with a sizable Dominican contingent, actually warmed up to him, cheering him as he brought their beloved to their knees... (Sorry... I'm getting giddy here...)

Best of all, he planted a seed in the minds of the Bombers, a seed that could grow into an oak tree when October arrives. Viva El Pedro! Viva Los Red Sox!

• "It was the best-pitched game I've ever seen. I've never seen anything better. He had three completely dominating pitches: a great fastball, a knee-buckling curve, and a parachute changeup. He did it here, in Yankee Stadium, in a pennant race, when the team really needed a win." -- David Cone (who threw a pretty good one himself recently)
• "I've never seen a guy pitch like that for nine innings." -- Bernie Williams
• "He's the best pitcher in the league. In baseball. Period. We didn't get beat by the Red Sox. We got beat by Pedro Martínez." -- Paul O'Neill
• "That is about as close to unhittable as you can find. He could've taken any pitch out of his pocket and thrown it for a strike tonight . . . That was stuff that Koufax used to do." -- Joe Torre
• "That is pitching." -- Mariano Rivera
• "He had the sharpest stuff of any pitcher I've ever seen." -- Andy Pettitte
• "If Pedro was a musician, he'd be Charlie Parker." -- Johnny B
• "This is as good as it gets, I won't lie. I had nine perfect innings one time (for Montreal, against San Diego on June 3, 1995) and this is just as good, and probably more dominating, especially coming against New York. I don't believe in superstitions. I don't believe in the Curse of the Bambino. I wasn't even born at that time." -- Pedro Martínez

Pedro Martínez