Ben Cherington’s first year as a full-time employee in the Boston Red Sox organization also yielded the general manager’s favorite Pedro Martinez memory.
Cherington told the Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber earlier this week that he fondly remembers Martinez’s gutsy performance in Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS versus the Cleveland Indians. The GM was low on Boston’s baseball operations totem pole at the time, but he couldn’t help but marvel at the situation.
“I got to Jacobs Field right about the start of the game. I didn’t have a ticket and I didn’t want to stay in the clubhouse so I just walked the concourse,” Cherington recalled to Lauber. “There was a lot of offense early, and when (Bret) Saberhagen got taken out in the second (inning), I thought we might be in trouble because I knew we were a little thin with pitching.
“I was doing concourse laps in the third when I saw Pedro running down to the ‘pen. I knew he was hurting so my first reaction was, ‘No, we can’t afford to hurt this guy for the long run.’ Then he comes in to start the bottom of the fourth and everyone can see his arm slot is lower and velocity is down. I was worried about the game but also about him.”
The rest, of course, is well-documented. Martinez, who had been removed from Game 1 of the series because of a back injury, tossed six no-hit innings while guiding the Red Sox to a 12-8 win. Boston eventually lost to the New York Yankees in the ALCS, but Martinez’s effort against the Indians forever will be remember as one of the grittiest postseason performances in Major League Baseball history.
“It was incredible to watch, and even though we lost in the ALCS, I’ve always thought that game against the Indians was the start of the core of Pedro, Tek (Jason Varitek), (Trot) Nixon, (Derek) Lowe, etc., getting experience winning games they had to win,” Cherington told Lauber.
Martinez, who was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, said last year he put his career in jeopardy that fateful October night in 1999. Cherington understood the potential ramifications, which only added to his admiration for the performance and the pitcher’s illustrious career.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@CSNNE
