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The 50 Greatest Red Sox Players Of All Time

By Logan Jakubajtys

Apr 11, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox former players Pedro Martínez and Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield take the field before the Red Sox home opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox former players Pedro Martínez and Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield take the field before the Red Sox home opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jul 28, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Hall of Fame player Pedro Martinez speaks to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Hall of Fame player Pedro Martinez speaks to the crowd during his number retirement ceremony before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Pedro Martinez

On many other franchise all time lists, Pedro Martinez would be number 1. This however, is the Boston Red Sox. Pedro spent seven seasons with Boston after coming over from the Montreal Expos. Over those seasons, Martinez went 117-37 with just a 2.52 ERA. He won his 2nd and 3rd career in back to back years, 1999 and 2000. Pedro’s 1999 season is thought to be one of the best in Major League Baseball history. In ’99, he led the AL with a 23-4 record, 2.07 ERA and 313 strikeouts. In 2000, Pedro had just a 1.74 ERA, a career best.

In 2003, Martinez started Game 7 of the ALCS against the Yankees. Sox Manager Grady Little left a tiring Pedro in for the 8th inning, a controversial move that is still discussed around Boston. Martinez assured his manager he still had something left, but promptly gave up a double to Derek Jeter and a single to Bernie Williams.

Surprisingly, Grady Little left Pedro in the game. Martinez then gave up a double to Hideki Matsui and a bloop double to Jorge Posada to tie the game, sending it to extra innings. The Red Sox lost off a devastating Aaron Boone home run.

In 2004, Pedro got his revenge over the Yankees. In Game 2 of the ALCS, he tossed a scoreless 6+ innings. The Red Sox though, eventually lost the game 3-1. The Sox also lost Game 3 and found themselves down 3 games to their most hated rival.

The team battled back to win Game 4, earning Pedro another start. Game 5 was a struggle, but the Red Sox came out with win off a 14th inning David Ortiz home run. In Game 7, Martinez got yet another crack at the Yankees. He struggled, pitching one relief inning in the 7th and allowing 2 runs. The Sox won the game 10-3 however, completing the most epic comeback in baseball history.

Martinez’ struggles against New York that year were forgotten when the Red Sox lifted their first World Series trophy in 86 years. Pedro was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015 with 91/1% of the vote.

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