Boston Red Sox: Top 5 starting pitchers in franchise history
By Sean Penney
Nothing in baseball can compare to what it was like watching Pedro Martinez take the mound at Fenway Park. His starts created an electric atmosphere that kept the crowd buzzing with the anticipation that they were about to witness something special, which often times they did.
The Red Sox traded for Martinez following a career year for the Montreal Expos in which he captured his first Cy Young. After finishing as the runner-up in his first season in Boston, Pedro would win the award in each of the following two season.
His 1999 and 2000 seasons showcased the best pitching performance you will ever see in the modern era in consecutive seasons. Pedro went 23-4 while leading the league with a 2.07 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 313 strikeouts in ’99. That season was also notable for his brilliant All-Star Game performance. Martinez struck out five of the six batters he faced to earn MVP honors at the Mid-Summer Classic played at Fenway Park. In case that wasn’t impressive enough, Pedro followed that season with an arguably better one, posting a 1.74 ERA and 0.73 WHIP.
Martinez is third among Red Sox pitchers with a 51.9 WAR, but pitched about half as many innings as Young or Clemens did in Boston because he only played here for seven seasons.
His 2.52 ERA ranks 10th among Red Sox pitchers with at least 800 innings pitched and none of the other pitchers ahead of him in that group pitched for the franchise more recently than Babe Ruth‘s last year in Boston in 1919.
Pedro is also the franchise leader in strikeout rate (10.95 K/9), strikeout percentage (30.6%) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.45).
2004 was the last year that Pedro spent in Boston, but he left the city on top by helping the Red Sox break an 86-year World Series title drought.
Martinez was elected into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, his first year on the ballot. Later that year the Red Sox made him the first pitcher in franchise history to have his number retired at Fenway.
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His dominant run, dazzling statistical resume and contributions to that historic championship team will forever make Pedro an icon in the city of Boston, which is why he earns the top spot as the best pitcher in Red Sox history.