Number One: Pedro Martinez
Last month, FiveThirtyEight named Pedro Martinez the greatest pitcher of All Time, confirming what many of us knew the whole time. During his peak years, from 1998 to 2003, there was nobody, in the history of baseball, better than Pedro Martinez.
Pedro came to the Red Sox in 1998, and was nothing short of dominant until he left, after winning the World Series, in 2004. Martinez recorded an ERA of 2.52, a winning percentage of .760 (117-37), 1683 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.978.
During this time, Pedro recorded too many highlights to count, winning two Cy Young Awards, and earning the reputation of a funny-lovable man off the field, and a fierce competitor on it. 1999 was arguably the greatest season by a pitcher in the history of the MLB; Pedro won the Triple Crown, and put on the greatest performance in All-Star Game history, winning the MVP.
Last year, Pedro was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and had his number retired by the Red Sox. He is, without question, a Red Sox legend, and, at least in my opinion, the greatest pitcher in Red Sox history.