Boston Sports Then and Now

Will Pedro be the Yankees' Daddy this time around?

Just after midnight, the New York Yankees punched their ticket to the World Series for the very first time since Aaron Boone launched an extra-inning, season-ending and heart-crushing home run into the left field corner at Yankee Stadium that sent the Red Sox packing in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series.

That game, which was started by Pedro Martinez, was all the motivation that was needed to help drive the magical run of the returning Red Sox players who were part of the miraculous October the very next October en route to the 2004 World Series Championship.

But, before I get to that 2004 season, let me take you back to that Game 7 in 2003, as much as it may make you cringe.

Holding a three-run lead with just five outs standing in the way of the Red Sox and a trip to the World Series, Pedro Martinez stood atop the mound in the center of Yankee Stadium. Thinking back on that night, it’s hard to understand why the Red Sox didn’t win that game.

After four innings, Martinez had given up just one hit, as Boston mounted an early 4-0 lead. A pair of solo home runs off the bat of Jason Giambi (cough, steroids, cough) in the fifth and seventh innings were Pedro’s only mistakes on the night leading into the bottom of the eighth inning.

We all know what happened in that inning, of course. Grady Little stuck with Pedro, the Yankees come back to tie the game, the Red Sox’s lead evaporates in the blink of an eye and Boston never sees the World Series in 2003.

It was the most shocking moment in Boston sports history since Mookie Wilson’s little roller up along first in 1986.

2003, as crushing as it was, may have lost most of its sting the very next fall when the Red Sox completed the greatest comeback in the history of sports by defeating the Yankees after previously trailing three games to nothing in the series.

As a kid growing up in Boston, it was my dream to see Pedro pitch in the World Series. After watching the Red Sox hoist him in the air after his six no-hit innings of relief in the series clinching game of the 1999 ALDS, all I wanted to see was Pedro reach the World Series plateau to see just how high he could elevate his game.

On October 26, 2004, I finally got my wish. Pedro’s Game 3 start in the 2004 World Series, which proved to be his last in a Red Sox uniform, was one of his finest performances as a member of the Red Sox. A seven-inning, three-hit shutout with six strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals helped put the Red Sox just one game away from becoming World Series Champions.

After leaving Boston for the New York Mets in 2005, his numbers never reached what they were in Boston. I thought I’d never get to see the Pedro that I grew up watching at Fenway Park. Well, Pedro’s journey to Philadelphia seems to have revived his career, as he went 5-1 in nine starts with the Phillies, hurling a seven-inning, two-hit shutout in the NLCS against Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers.

When in Boston, Pedro vowed that he “would rather win one ring with Boston than three rings with someone else.” Here’s his chance to prove that he can win a ring with a team other than Boston. It only seems fitting that he has to go through his arch nemesis, the New York Yankees, to do it.

Once again, getting the call in Game 3 of the World Series, Martinez will take his 6-2 postseason record with a

Will Pedro be smiling when he faces New York in the World Series?

3.13 ERA in October with him to the mound, as he prepares to do battle with the Bronx Bombers. He may not be the Game 1 starter that he once was, but by Game 3, it could be the most important and most pivotal game of the series.

By Game 3, the Phillies could have the chance to put a stranglehold on the series, get ahead by a game in the series or get back into the series with a win. Winning is Pedro’s specialty, as his 219 career wins and .687 career winning percentage speak volumes. Not to mention his 3,154 career strikeouts.

Martinez has had as many starts against the Yankees in his career that most starting pitchers have in one full season. In 32 career starts, Pedro is dead even at 11-11 against the men in pinstripes with a respectable 3.20 ERA. Ready to be impressed? In his 216.2 innings pitched against the Bronx Bombers, Martinez has racked up 261 strikeouts. So much for them being his “Daddy.”

In 2004, Martinez said, “I actually realized that I was somebody important, because I caught the attention of 60,000 people, plus the whole world watching a guy that if you reverse time back 15 years ago, I was sitting under a mango tree without 50 cents to pay for a bus.” Well, five years later, he’s back and he has a lot more than 50 cents and I’m sure those 60,000 people haven’t forgotten him one bit.

“I respect the Yankees, I love the Yankees, but I would love to beat them as much as I look forward to playing them,” Martinez said after the Phillies guaranteed their spot in the Fall Classic.

The Yankees may be a store-bought All Star team this year, but I’ll roll the dice with a rotation of Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Pedro Martinez any day of the week and twice on Sunday. When you have a lineup that boasts Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, chances are that you’re going to score some runs.

It should be a great World Series match-up, and seeing Pedro pitch in the World Series against the Yankees will surely be a treat for all of Red Sox Nation. As you may know, Red Sox fans only have two choices here: root for the Phillies, or root against the Yankees. Either way, the Philllies are going into this series knowing that they have the support of one of the most dedicated fan bases in all of sports.

So, now I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the greatest pitcher in Red Sox history, Pedro Martinez.

“Georgie Porgie, he might buy the whole league, but he doesn’t have enough money to buy fear to put in my heart.”

Jared Carrabis is a contributing blogger for Boston Sports Then and Now. Make sure to check out his site, Sox Space News and his latest book, One Fan’s Story: If This Hat Could Talk.