Farewell to Pedro

The greatest pitcher ever to wear a Red Sox uniform has just left us for the New York Mets. Baseball is a business, and it is always too bad when a player leaves just for the highest bidder. But I'll never forget the days I watched Pedro pitched. There was the 1999 game at Yankee stadium where he struck out 17 and allowed only 1 hit. His stuff in that game was beautiful to watch. The fastball burst forward, and the curve made hitters knees buckle. When adjusted for era and ballpark, Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were statistically the two greatest pitched in baseball history. But more important than stats, Pedro came through when it mattered most. In 1999 he risked his career in a game I will never forget. The 1999 playoffs Red Sox were down 2 games to nothing in the playoffs. This was depressing because the Red Sox had never won a playoff series since I began following baseball, and they were about to lose again. But the Red Sox fought back and won two games at Fenway to send the series back to Cleveland for a deciding game 5. Pedro had exited Game 1 early with a back injury. Before game 3, a bullpen session lasted only one minute because of the discomfort. He was declared unvailable to pitch Game 5. But the game soon turned into an ugly slugfest. After 3 and a half innings the score was already 8-8. With the season on the line and with Boston's pitchers getting knocked around by the Cleveland hitters, Jimy Williams called the bullpen. Out of the bullpen comes Pedro. His back still hurting, and his fastball was only in the low 90's far below it's normal velocity. But he used every bit of guile and guts he had, and the Cleveland hitters cannot touch him. In the 7th Troy O'Leary hit. The entire stadium of 45,000 is deathly silent as Pedro take the mound in the next inning. They know with absolute certainty that with Pedro on the mound the game is over. Pedro finishes the game, having gone 6 innings, and not allowing a single hit. The Red Sox win their first playoff series since 1986. But the most important game Pedro pitched for the Red Sox was his very last. Pedro was brought to the Red Sox with one idea in mind: get to the World Series, put the ball in his hands, and let him win it. It took seven years. In his final start in a Red Sox uniform Pedro pitched seven scoreles innings to put the Red Sox up 3-games to nothing. The next day the Red Sox were crowned World Champions. They were, as Curt Schilling said, the greatest Red Sox team ever. Farewell.