Pedro's jheri curl is one of many reasons to root for the future Hall of Famer.
Simply put, Pedro is the man. Always has been, always will be.
Martinez is probably my favorite Red Sox player of all-time. He’s a bulldog on the mound and hilarious off the field. He was a big part of Boston evolving from a lovable loser to a franchise that’s consistently contending for a World Series championship. He’s scheduled to start Game 2 for the Phillies this afternoon and here are the top-five reasons to root him on:
5. The jheri curl (yes that’s how you spell it). There aren’t many human beings on Earth who can pull off this look, especially two decades after it was in style. Pedro does it — with ease.
4. Continuing a postseason legacy. In his career, Pedro has posted a 6-2 record with a 3.40 ERA in 11 starts and two heroic relief appearances. The numbers aren’t among the best of all-time, but they’re still pretty damn solid.
3. Three Cy Young Awards, along with two runner-ups. Pedro doesn’t possess the stuff he had 10 years ago, but he was nearly untouchable back in the day. In 1999, he went 23-4 with a 2.07 ERA and 313 K’s. Even as a pitcher, he finished second in the MVP voting. Dude was a beast.
2. Revenge factor. I don’t have anything against the Dodgers. I like Manny, respect Torre and the rest of their squad is a good mix of veterans and talented youngsters. However, Pedro started his career in LA and was shipped off to Montreal in 1994 because Tommy Lasorda didn’t think Pedro could make it as a starter. Good call, Tommy. You better believe Pedro remembers that and would love to stick it to Lasorda 15 years later.
1.
This moment was beyond Kinda Fantastic.
The moment Zimmer charged Pedro like a raging 117-year old bull and the 3-time Cy Young winner politely tossed him to the ground, I started laughing for a good three weeks straight — and that might not even be an exaggeration.
It was probably the fourth-best moment of my Red Sox fanhood, behind winning the ’04 World Series, ’04 ALCS and ’07 World Series. As soon as Zimmer’s face hit the grass, it cemented Pedro’s legacy as one of my favorite players ever.
I have two words for him as he prepares to try and give his team a 2-0 lead in the NLCS:
Go Pedro.
-Tidbit
