Earlier today, the 2015 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame were inducted in Cooperstown. Among them was my favorite pitcher, Pedro Martinez.
Although he'll always be associated in the eyes of fans in a Red Sox uniform, Pedro ended his career in a Phillies uniform in 2009. He pitched well in the half-season he spent in Philadelphia, going 5 - 1 and pitching well in the playoffs, including 7 scoreless innings against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS.
The photo above was taken on September 13th, 2009. We went to a day / night double header at Citizen's Bank Park against the Mets, and Pedro was the starting pitcher in the night game. It was a memorable evening. Tony Danza sang the National Anthem, and my favorite pitcher took the mound against our most hated rivals and his former team.
As excited as I was to get to see Pedro pitch in person, I never could have predicted how dominant he would be. Pedro threw 130 pitches, struck out 7, and shut down the Mets over 8 scoreless innings. Ryan Madson came in for the save in the 9th inning and locked down the game for the Phillies. This was Pedro's fifth win of the season, and the 219th win of his career. Although I didn't know it at the time, this would be the final win of his career.
Congratulations, Mr. Pedro Martinez - one of the most dominant pitchers in the history of the game. Thank you for your contribution to this game, and for your short, but memorable time in Philadelphia - especially that one September night.
