How a 5'11 / 170 lb Pitcher DEFEATED the Steroid Era
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Pedro Martinez is arguably the greatest pitcher to ever live. But one thing is for certain, when he was at his peak he stood alone as the best we have ever seen. This is the story of how Pedro Martinez defeated the Steroid Era.
Hope you enjoy.
Boston Red Sox
#pedromartinez
Pedro is one of the most beloved adopted Bostonians, along with Big Papi. Even though he was past his best days in 04, it meant everything to see him hoist that trophy up. Nothing but 100% love for that guy, he's the best.
Pedro was almost unhittable. His change up, the best ever. His stuff was so nasty.. got to see him play in Boston a few times. He was one of those players you just knew was going to dominate. Best ever IMHO.
True. Most MLB pitchers like to have one dominant pitch - Pedro had three. A good fastball, a good slider, but his changeup was his signature.
Completely Agree. So lucky to be a fan in that era - You have Randy who was just overpowering from an arm slot never seen before, Pedro just throwing unhittable filth (his hands have to be huge - his break just doesnt make sense otherwise), and Maddux painting out there. 3 of the top 5 ever. Against the best hitting era.
Pedro's 17k game vs the Yankees was the single greatest pitching performance I've ever seen. And I watched both of Clemens 20k games. The difference was the level of the competition. The Yankees were in the middle of their dynastic run and the game was a meaningful close game. He dazzled them. By the third time through the lineup that day, the mignty Yankees were demoralized. They quite literally had given up before they even entered the batter's box. You could see it in their body language. They had no chance and they knew it.
Only Pedro's incredible 6 inning no hit relief appearance against the Indians in the playoffs rivaled it. In that game he was hurt and didnt have his fastball. But he had so dominated the Indians that year that they were visibly shaken by his appearance on the mound. They, too, were beaten before they even got up to the plate.
Pedro was magical. He was the GOAT in my estimation.
Pedro Martinez, especially in 1999 and 2000, was the most dominant pitcher in the game. His fastball looked like a tiny aspirin at opposing hitters. And Pedro's curveball was devasting.
I remember those couple years. You're right. NOBODY could hit him. The baddest MF in baseball imo. Then I remember when a rod was in Texas. I thought he was the baddest even though the rangers weren't going anywhere.
Don’t forget the change. During that time he had the best FB, CB and Change in baseball. Lethal combo
Johnson was more dominant!
Nolan Ryan has entered the chat.
@@jeremyweems4916 So have Maddux, Clemens and Mariano!
I was at the 17 Strikeout game at Yankee Stadium the friday night of Labor Day weekend 1999, the most incredible performance by an athlete that I have ever seen, 17 Strikeouts, 0 walks, 1 hit, 1 run, struck out everyone in the order at least once and ended by striking out 8 of the last 9 batters and "striking out" does not really capture it, he blew them away, it was close to non-competitive. And with a large contingency of Dominican fans at the game and, it being a Friday night of a holiday weekend, the atmosphere was absolutely electric. Mike Lucia wrote in his column, "Pedro could've pitched until 3:00 am and the Yankees would not have gotten another hit".
This video gave me goose bumps as it took me back to my childhood. I went to many games and got to watch his greatness live. Also seems like yesterday I was watching his dominate performance in the All Star Game in 99. He is by far one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Glad to call him a Red Sox Legend!!!
I was there front and center to watch Pedro's peak. And it was amazing. He made the best hitters OF THE STEROID ERA look like little leaguers. His stuff was crazy good. The blazing heater, snapping curve, and a roll off the table changeup all delivered from the same release point and to the very spots Pedro aimed for made for some ridiculous strikeout numbers and utter dominance for 5 years. His performance from 1999-2001, his pure peak, was the best pitching I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of HoF pitchers.
Simply put - Pedro was the GOAT. He out-Koufaxed Koufax during a period of time when juiced up hitters were setting records and destroying lesser mortals. Pedro was the king and I don't think I'll ever see anything like him again. I'm glad I was blessed to live in Boston and witness his mastery when I did.
Perfectly said!
The movements on his pitches are unmatched even to this day. It was like watching wiffleball being pitched 90 miles an hour moving all over the place. It was unbelievable to see.
Seeing Pedro come out of that bullpen in Cleveland still gives me chills. That man is the best pitcher I've ever seen, still. 99-01 was the most dominant pitching I can even imagine.
As a Yankee fan, this legend deserves far more respect.
Seaver was better
🤡🤡🤡@@anthonyfowler2623
@@anthonyfowler2623 No he wasn't. Not stat wise or any otherwise.
Especially after he bitch slapped Don Zimmer:)
@@anthonyfowler2623haha thanks for the laugh.
Prime Pedro was the best pitcher in the history of the game there is non argument agaisnt it dude was a killer must see tv
.
Bit of a stretch there kid
Best pitcher I have ever seen
Got to see him live in Boston in 2002 what a game
Ur a lucky man
The greatest ever. True to his number 45...he is so legendary.
Dude had some long ass fingers and could drop the circle change like nobody else.
I watched a game between the Sox and the Yankees, can't remember what year it was but it pinned Padro against Clemens. Padro out pitched Clemens. Complete game 1-0 shutout striking out 17 batters for the win. He was a great pitcher.
I had tickets to their matchup that never happened. Pedro got hurt in warmups. Found out on the bus heading to the game. Devastated.
Saw him pitch a couple of games at Fenway in 99. Fans would get up for beers, take a leak, etc. when the Red Sox were at bat because no one wanted to miss a single Pedro pitch.
What put Pedro in the GOAT conversation is the velocity he could throw his fastball combined with his 3 other plus pitches that he could and would throw at any time in the count. Until he hurt his arm in the early 2000s, Pedro would use the same arm angle on all 4 pitches so it was next to impossible to know what was coming as a hitter. Being in the American League (miss me with national league pitcher comparisons, which was a much easier league to pitch in) and in the Al East especially, gives Pedro's accomplishments as his peak that much more boost. He was the best pitcher of all time for about a 5 year period.
An old coworker of mine, Black, he is as Dominican. He'd go to blows over Pedro, with Anybody! People, especially Dominicans absolutely Love Pedro Martinez. He's a beast. Growing up 20 minutes from Fenway my whole life so I know how important Pedro was to Red Sox baseball. Reverse the curse! 2004 that wasn't just Curt Shilling. Pedro was phenomenal for years with Boston!
The problem with baseball is all the awards are opinion based. Statistics are all that should matter. Pedro was the 99 mvp in our hearts and he did throw that perfect 9 in montreal. And i'm a lifetime Orioles fan and he was an instant loss when he was pitching against us
real
@@InDepthBaseballYT its all a popularity contest its actually driven me away from watching baseball even though i play alot of OTP25
Statistics are skewed when it’s not a level playing field. Chemical advantages are against the rules.
As a Red Sox fan I miss those easy W's you all let us have back then
Analytics blow and ruin the game.
Pedro was the most incredible full career pitcher other than MAYBE Maddox, that I've witnessed in my 46+ yrs. Sorry, too young to appreciate Nolan, barely remember early Clemens, and fully remember Randy Johnson....and Schilling. Pedro was under appreciated and I was elated that Boston could FINALLY win a WS with him still pitching. He pitched not only some of the most in incredible outings but entire Seasons that I've ever laid witness to...and in the middle of steroid-mania...as a small frame freak of the mound tyrant😂.
Pedro was different man… even him talking about pitching was like mesmerizing
The best to ever do it ! The most dominant pitcher of his era and the steroid era … Petey was the truth ! 🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴
He's the GOAT pitcher. 8th all time in the most important stat (WHIP) and did it all in the steroids era while only being 5'11 175lbs.
8th all time in whip doesnt make him the goat , I dont care how tall he is , he wasnt the only top pitcher not on juice.
He WAS the top pitcher though.
@@Lennox1224say it without crying now you clown 🤡
Only 5'11" 175? Would he somehow be a better pitcher if he was 6'3" 200? He's pitching, not playing center in basketball 😂
He's great but for my money Greg Maddux was better
Surprised to see Reggie charge the mound. Super nice guy. He gave the initial speech at my first Spring Training when I played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and he was all class.
Pedro is my spirit animal.
So real
Pedro was one of the best ever an unbelievable talent
I fell in love with game of Baseball because of this man in 1997.I remember me at 13 at my brother at 11 yrs old played wiffle ball.We both try to imitate Pedro,and try to hit of each other.Beautiful Days.
Dude could paint each side of the plate with a perfect 12-6 at will. Pedro before his shoulder injury in 2001 was the best pitcher I've ever watched. PERIOD.
That All Star game, going up against all those guys who would have been legends without steroids. He took down juiced up hall of famers like it was nothing.
There was a 5-6 year stretch where he was not just the best pitcher but the best of all time for such a stretch. Pedro was must see TV like no player before or after.
pedro was a modern pitcher in an older era he was better because they had approaches like the ones today and he was like a great pitcher from today
The fact that Pedro was able to put up the numbers that he did during the steroid era when the avg ERA in MLB was 4.7 is just crazy!
I've seen them all by Pedro stands out is the best picture I ever saw
And Pedro averaged it for 7 season. Now that's ridiculous
I watched every game at that time. Pedro was must see baseball. Never seen anything like it
THE 🐐, the reason I watch baseball is Pedro.
My favorite pitcher of all time... Pedro, Randy Johnson and Greg Maddox... Pedro and Nomar the reason im a Red Sox fan...
He the goat pitcher for me even as a tigers fan since 03 😂
You failed to mention an important iconic fact about the playoff game against Cleveland when Pedro came in, in the third inning after 8 runs had been scored on the Sox. There were rumors circulating on the Indians team early in the game that Pedro was coming out and I believe he couldn't get his pitches over 80 miles an hour that game as he blew them all away. In my opinion it may have been the greatest pitching performance of all time.
Being able to root for Pedro, Manny, AND Ortiz ruined baseball for me. It has never, and will never, be that good again, and Pedro seemed superhuman for most of that. Mean as hell, and just ten steps ahead at all times.
my favorite player of all time
In 1999, Pedro not only won the pitcher’s Triple Crown (wins/strikeouts/ERA) he had five more wins than anyone else, 100 more strikeouts and 1.00 better ERA.
And he was just as good in 2000.
The only pitcher who can compare is Koufax.
Dude’s a legend in Boston, along with Ortiz.
Had the pleasure of seeing Pedro pitch in person many times. He was an entirely different breed. He was part of an integral staff that brought the Red Sox a championship after 86 long years. He had no fear and did what he wanted. His command was unrivaled. As far as im concerned, he got the perfect game for the Expos
That’s the best pitcher to ever step on the mound
I was a Nomar Garciaparra fan growing up because i played shortstop. So i was a fan of whatever team he was on. Pedro became my favourite pitcher soon after. I was always an allstar growing up as both a pitcher and a SS. Imitate the best
Its big gheeyz to root for a single player over a team, I bet you beat off to Nomar posters.
@Lennox1224 I was a kid. Baseball was t even my favourite sport. I played football my entire life. This has to be the weirdest comment. To think someone who has a fav player growing up is like that says a lot about you. Stop projecting your insecurities on others. Take your fantasies elsewhere
@@aarongarcia2911 Its not just that you have a favorite player, its the fact that you only rooted for 1 player in the entire league regardless of what team he played for, thats weird........dont get butthurt about it, stop obsessing about a single man.
@Lennox1224 everyone has a favourite player growing up. The only one making it weird is you. As a kid you either have a family bring you into a team, or you figure it out yourself. My family was a football family. Needing to cheer for a team or your gay is saying a lot about you. You mean to tell me you're so insecure that if you only rooted for your favourite player you'd like men. I think you just like men. It's ok. It's 2024. We'll still accept you
@@aarongarcia2911 Its ok man, you had a thing for Nomar, you dont have to be ashamed or get defensive, you laid it all out, youre not a baseball fan, you just enjoyed oogling Nomar , you do you bro.
Was in my 20s when Pedro came to Boston. You could see immediately he was special. He had swagger to not let the fans or media get to him. He actually thrived in it. When he hit the mound you knew if you could get 2/3 runs you had a 90% chance of winning. He attacked and outsmarted batters and honestly I think they knew before the 1st pitch Pedro already had them. If he needed a strike out he’d usually get it. If he needed a ground ball he’d usually get it. What he did in the 2004 Yankees series, most clutch pitching performance as a reliever, with hardly any rest, I’ve ever seen. Fucken legend. I love Pedro. On and off field.
I got to watch him play so many times. Those were great fkg days!!!!
Best I’ve ever seen. In prime he took the bump its was pretty much a guaranteed W.
Best pitcher all time in his peak, there's not a man that's ever lived to do it better
My favorite of all time.. pedro martinez... From a yankee fan..
Awesome vid. Though I am was an Indians fan during Pedro's Reign of Terror, it was hard not to admire him. He was so very entertaining, even in beating one's own team. And he was so small of stature! I worked with the Cleveland Indians media at that time and so once had a chance to be next to Pedro-- tiny fella! Yet, man, somehow he could bring that fastball of NITRATE! Amazing, incredible, impressive. Thanks for the vid.
Great video! Pedro is the goat and great human signed all my stuff as a kid always will be one of the best pitchers of all time and short of papi maybe the most beloved Sox of all time
Pedro was UNBELIEVABLE
That all star game the greatest thing ever!! Pedro sat McGuire and Sosa back to back at home in our house!! We sandwiched a World Series win with two Super Bowl wins back to back!!! Good times man!!
Pedro had a secret weapon of sorts, weirdly flexible fingers ... it's literally what he chalks his crazy success up to.
Best pitcher in the past forty years.
Every pitch moved, at 96 MPH.
Subbed, and also thanks for not being the guy who takes up half the screen and takes away from all the great stuff, hate that, fire vid. After this imma look on the channel fro a pujols type of this. 👍👍
Pedro was basically Michaelangelo with a baseball and each year was a masterpiece.
He will alway be loved in Boston.
high and sober me love these videos so much
If I had to choose in favorites, Pedro 1a Big Papi 1b. Just like big papi, he's such a likable dude too.
I was only 7 when I started following baseball but man, '04 sealed the deal for me.
The 2 seamer and circle change were just too deadly
It was just called a changeup then lol but dude was unreal. He’d hit you with a 97mph fastball, then a 84mph curve and finish ya off with a 89mph changeup lol
@@Andy_Babb nah they called it the circle change then too. I remember
@@nostalgia4infiniti850 I trust ya. Regardless, Pedro was unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. God damn he was so freaking fun to watch out there.
When Pedro pitched every 5 days or whatever it was an event . The k counter guy. U had to be there to watch. If u know u know to this day the most dominant pitcher I've ever seen nobody is close since. Youngsters don't even know ,sox baseball hasn't had anyone like him so it's hard to explain
My favorite pitcher of all time.
My Favorite pitcher of sll time #45. Thank you for the Great Memories, IT WAS A PLEASURE WATCHING YOU PITCH WITH REDSOX. God Bless👍⚾️
A lot of head games and Boston did have a nice squad!!!
I watched every game this guy pitched, as I grew up at just the right time in boston, let me tell you, every time he pitched we all said, " I can't wait to watch one of the greatest FIPs, K%, and batting average on balls in play ever"
Dont know why ur getting mad at stats that support him as the greatest pitcher ever
@InDepthBaseballYT oh I'm just doing my old man yells at cloud thing..I was looking forward to the video, I used to say this guy is doing dead ball era stuff during the steroid era, the video title was tailor made for me, Pedro is my favorite athlete ever next to Larry bird maybe cpl others...but then the yammering off of stats... stats that have arguably messed baseball up ... the obsession with marginally important newfangled stats has led to things like taking guys out of games 99 pitches into a no hitter... anyway misplaced aggression maybe.. Pedro confused guys so badly, so many bad swings, and he battled out of tough spots and got wins, there's a stat that used to matter, wins. I'm being a jerk, it's a good video and I couldn't agree more, it's slightly interesting that the stats back him up.. he was ridiculous, somehow was better than even clemens, conveniently after we lost him, it was a great time, especially 04
@InDepthBaseballYT BTW if you think about it, I'm a native bostonian, being a jerk is actually being friendly, good video
@@eisenkeith fair enough ahah. Appreciate the love
the most dominant pitcher I ever witnessed in my lifetime he just made Hall of famers look silly.
Every single pitch came out of the same release point and multiple pitches shared the exact same tunnel. He was borderline actually unhittable. Combine that with his innate personality (effort, willpower, aggression) and you get one of the best EVER.
In his prime Pedro's stuff was nasty! He was fun to watch!
In his prime, he was the best ever.
had one of the nastiest change ups. 5'11" but damn he stood tall.
Great video, clean well presented
Pedro and Maddox , the best
Had to see it to believe it
It is apart of the game pitchers need to make the batters think the more they think the less focus they have putting the bat on the ball.
Most good MLB pitchers have 2 plus pitches, Pedro had 4 that he could locate and paint the corners with.
Prob bc he was 17 in 1988 and 19 in 1993. Dude was age defying.
really liked the quality of the vid. I subcribed :D
Pedro didn’t throw ANYWHERE by accident. If he threw toward somebody’s head, he did it on purpose. The man had perfect control. If he’d wanted to put it a guys ear, he’d have hit the ear hole on the helmet lol he wouldn’t have missed.
I’m so glad I got to watch him pitch. Literally the entire city was absolutely electric on a Pedro Day. Everyone knew who Pedro was. He was the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen in a baseball game… unlikely there’ll ever be another pitcher like him since they rarely go past the 5th or 6th innings nowadays 😒 Yes there have been some great pitchers, but nobody was as good as Pedro for that 7-8 year stretch, and during the steroid era against guys who looked like they were swinging toothpicks up there.
He also brought a midget into the clubhouse and told everyone it was his son. Even had him in the dugout if I remember right. It was epic lol
I don't like GOAT conversations, and there is no clear pitcher GOAT. I am glad this video was framed as best 7 year run. There may may other pitchers with the best 3, 5 and 9 year runs; which should also be recognized. Baltimore gave him a standing O when he broke the back of their team, like something out of a Rocky movie.
Watched him throw Don Zimmer to the ground on live TV. Savage. 😮
“Should be Hall of Famer” Sammy Sosa??? Respect…
Great content just subbed
Red Sox fan here, love that you made a video about one of our favorite boys! 😄
Also sorry to be "that guy" but the 21st century technically started in 2001, not 2000
Let me push my narratives in peace😂
@@InDepthBaseballYT how you know dude was clean? Were you there?
Take one look at him
@@InDepthBaseballYT everyone said that about Alex Rodriguez 🤩
@@TheoEpstein-n3u every player that was on steroids back then put on lots of muscle. They used testosterone, deca, winstrol, primabolin, andro they called that the baseball cocktail and all those things help u put on muscle so it was very easy to notice what players were juicing. Arod didn't look juiced until he joined Texas but Pedro was skinny and had a belly
Grady Little is still a 4 letter word in my house
He is "persona non grata"(?) round here...My friends and I don't acknowledge his existence
2000 is NOT in the 21st century. It was the last year of the 20th century.
🙄
In his Prime #45 is the best Pitcher I’ve ever seen in 30 years of being obsessed with the game of baseball.
Edit: the werid cut around 10:14 is because MLB claimed a 20 second clip in the video that I had to cut out after uploading
2003 championships with ‘Boone iconic homerun.’
My favorite moment as a Pedro fan. Unfortunately they lost. Grady Little went out to get Pedro, he couldn’t. Pedro was not coming out. The manager did not leave Pedro in too long.
I understand what ur saying by “pedro was not coming out” but its a managers job overrule what a player is saying
@@InDepthBaseballYT that’s why it was special
Don't overlook Tim Lincecum, another slim guy who dominated for a time. Martinez had career longevity. Lincecum didn't. Martinez was a better pitcher, but Lincecum has his place in the hall of the very good.
tim just had very hard mechanics
Lincecum is underrated
Pedro
Hey buddy - the criticism I’m about to give you is meant to be constructive and respectful. I recommend you slowing down the pace of your narration and focus a little heavier on pronunciation. I love baseball UA-cam and it’s obvious the amount of work it takes to create each video. Again, there’s no hate just respect and encouragement 🤙🏻
Definitely working on it i appreciate the feedback
@@InDepthBaseballYTYup, just take your time. Try to consciously enunciate a little. Viewers will appreciate a little deliberation. That said, you write a good script.
Just watched on x.75 , sounds better lol
@@InDepthBaseballYTgreat work. i watched on 1.25x & thoroughly enjoyed
I love pedro
Got to see him pitch twice. The place was electric when he pitched.
wish i could have witnessed it
The goat
Can we all agree the steroid era was way better than what we see now?
king is back
Martinez added to bostons pitching which helped then be a better team in the late 90s and early to mid 2000s and if the yankees didn't get in the red sox way those yrs up until 2004 the red sox coulda had 2 world series rings. Also pedro admitted leaving the red sox after the 2004 workd series win was a mustake cause he coulda stayed and had another world series ring from 2007. atleast