Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez accomplished a lot in his career — which will be recognized during his Baseball Hall of Fame induction Sunday — but one of his most impressive feats came early in the 2002 season.
Martinez wasted no time flashing his dominance during the Red Sox’s May 18 game against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park. The right-hander struck out the side to start the first inning, doing so on just nine pitches for the immaculate inning.
And one of those batters was Ichiro Suzuki, the reigning American League MVP, Rookie of the Year and the hardest hitter to strike out in 2001.
Talk about starting off on the right foot.
Martinez unsurprisingly went on to win that contest, allowing just one run over eight innings en route to a 4-1 Red Sox win.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@draft_who
