It’s mostly forgotten in all the grand memories of the 3-0 comeback against the Yankees and the curse-busting sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series, but Pedro Martinez left Boston immediately after the Sox won their first title in nine decades. The ace, still just 33 years old, had thoughts about returning to Boston but when the franchise wouldn’t add a fourth year to his contract, he went to a team who would – the New York Mets. The Sox won the gamble. Pedro had a great debut season in Queens but was largely ineffective in his second season, got hurt in the third and then, in that hotly debated fourth season, put up the worst numbers of his career.
It’s mostly forgotten in all the grand memories of the 3-0 comeback against the Yankees and the curse-busting sweep of the Cardinals in the World Series, but Pedro Martinez left Boston immediately after the Sox won their first title in nine decades. The ace, still just 33 years old, had thoughts about returning to Boston but when the franchise wouldn’t add a fourth year to his contract, he went to a team who would – the New York Mets. The Sox won the gamble. Pedro had a great debut season in Queens but was largely ineffective in his second season, got hurt in the third and then, in that hotly debated fourth season, put up the worst numbers of his career.