Top 10 Red Sox players enshrined in Baseball Hall of Fame

Pedro Martinez
Year Inducted: 2015

There hasn’t been a more exciting Red Sox pitcher in my lifetime than Pedro Martinez. Every time he took the mound it created an electric atmosphere and became an event that captured the attention of the entire city.

The Red Sox swindled the faltering Montreal Expos in a deal to acquire Martinez after the right-hander had captured the NL Cy Young in 1997.

Martinez spent seven seasons in Boston, going 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 10.9 K/9.

Pedro won consecutive Cy Young awards with the Red Sox in arguably the two most dominant pitching performances of the modern era. In 1999, Martinez captured the pitching Triple Crown by leading the league with 23 wins, a 2.07 ERA, and 313 strikeouts. The staggering strikeout total remains a franchise record.

The following season, Martinez went 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 284 strikeouts. His strikeout rate was down a bit from his previous excellence but he countered that by walking fewer batters. His 8.88 K/BB ration in 2000 led the majors and remains a franchise record by a qualified starting pitcher.

Martinez made eight All-Star appearances, including four during his tenure in Boston, but his ’99 All-Star Game performance was one of the most memorable in the history of the Midsummer Classic. Pedro faced the minimum six batters in his two innings of work as the AL starter, striking out five of them, to earn MVP honors.

Pedro’s last season in Boston was in 2004. His 16-9 record, 3.90 ERA, and 9.4 K/9 weren’t quite up to his usual standards yet he still finished fourth in Cy Young voting. More importantly, Martinez was the leader of a starting rotation that reversed an 86-year old curse by winning the World Series.

Martinez led the league in ERA five times and strikeouts three times. He earned three Cy Young awards and finished in the top-four on four other occasions. Pedro’s 51.9 fWAR with the Red Sox ranks third among pitchers in franchise history and his 10.94 K/9 trails only Chris Sale among pitchers with 5+ starts in a Red Sox uniform.

Pedro’s No. 45 was retired at Fenway Park in 2015 after his Hall of Fame induction.