Let's talk about the most disrespected elite athlete in American sports history.
Pedro Martinez, listed at 5-foot-11 and maybe 170 pounds soaking wet, spent the late 90s and early 2000s making grown men look like Little Leaguers in a era when everyone else was chemically enhanced.
Quick history lesson for the TikTok generation: from 1997 to 2003, Pedro posted a 2.20 ERA while the rest of the American League was basically playing Home Run Derby with syringes.
That's not dominance, that's a glitch in the simulation.
People love to bring up his 1999 All-Star Game moment where he struck out five of six batters, including Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa back-to-back.
But the real flex is Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS against Cleveland.
Pedro came out of the bullpen on two days' rest, threw six no-hit innings, and basically willed the Red Sox to victory while his shoulder was held together with duct tape and vibes.
By letting writers give the 1999 and 2000 AL MVP awards to other guys.
But here's the part that still grinds my gears: Pedro never got a unanimous Hall of Fame vote.
Some clown left him off the ballot entirely in 2015.
That voter should have their BBWAA card revoked and be forced to explain themselves to a panel of angry Bostonians.
Modern fans will tell you Jacob deGrom or prime Clayton Kershaw was better.
Neither of them pitched in the Steroid Era against lineups that looked like a Marvel crossover event.
Pedro was out here throwing 97 mph fastballs with a changeup that literally disappeared, and he did it with a frame that wouldn't get him a second look at a D1 tryout today.
The man also had zero filter, which made him a gift.
He called the Yankees his "daddy" and then went out and embarrassed them in the 2004 ALCS.
He threatened to drill Babe Ruth if the ghost ever stepped in the box.
He was petty, brilliant, and completely unbothered by your feelings.
If you're building a Mount Rushmore of pitchers and Pedro Martinez isn't on it, you're not a hater, you're just wrong.
Final Thoughts
Put some respect on the skinny kid from the Dominican Republic who made the best hitters of his generation look like they were swinging pool noodles.