Pedro Martinez, 2000
Generally, the popular answer is 1999 when debating what Pedro Martinez‘s best single-season numbers were as a member of the Red Sox. It’s a fair conclusion, given the fact that the 1999 Red Sox were a strong team as a whole that made it to the ALCS with Martinez as their best player.
With that said, the argument could easily be made Martinez actually performed better in 2000 than he did in 1999. While the 2000 team was generally middling and forgettable, Martinez was absolutely dominant. His ERA of 1.74, H9 of 5.3, WHIP of 0.737(!!!) and SO/W ratio of 8.88 were career bests.
The only metrics where Pedro’s 1999 season is definitively better than his 2000 season are strikeouts and win-loss record, but the general consensus nowadays is that wins are more of a team stat anyways. While his SO9 of 13.2 in 1999 is insane, a bit of a dip to 11.8 in 2000 is nothing to sneeze at.
Martinez was awarded his second consecutive Cy Young award in 2000, which gave him three overall. It is a shame that the rest of the team couldn’t match their results from the season prior. If they did, the curse could have been broken four years earlier given how well Martinez pitched.