Sports isn’t just a career — it’s a lifelong love story. Even after hanging up their cleats, many athletes carry the memories, moments, and locker-room laughs with them forever. That’s why it’s always fascinating when legends look back and pick their favorites. But what happens when a Hall of Famer skips over the very team that defined most of his career? Well, that’s exactly the curveball Pedro Martinez just threw our way.
Martinez played for several MLB Franchises throughout his career, but he spent the majority of his time with the Red Sox between 1998 and 2000. In fact, he attained glorious results with the Franchise, bagging two of his three Cy Youngs in 1999 and 2000, and lifting the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004. Naturally, many would have anticipated the team to be his favorite and its players to be the source of his admiration. However, to much surprise, Martinez has outrightly snubbed the franchise to declare that the player he admired the most was from the Yankees. Trying to guess? Well, if you think it’s Roger Clemens, you are absolutely correct.
The 53-year-old engaged in an interaction with the Geisball Podcast and revealed that he admired Clemens even before he joined the Red Sox. “I always saw him as an example of consistency and aggressiveness on the mound,” he shared. His statements are quite intriguing, given the fact that the Yankees and Red Sox share one of the most heated rivalries of the modern baseball era, even emerging in some clashes over the years. However, his admiration is quite understandable.
REMOTE TRANSMISSION — REMOTE TRANSMISSION— 2-24-2004:Ft. Myers, Florida:………..GLOBE STAFF PHOTO/JIM DAVIS………The Red Sox are expected to have one of the most feared top three starting pitchers at the top of their rotation in all of baseball this season. Curt Schilling, (left), and Derek Lowe (right) have been in camp for some time, but they were happy to see the third member of the troika, Pedro Martinez (center) arrive for his first workout this morning. The three right handed hurlers are shown having some fun together during a morning drill at the team’s minor league complex. Library Tag 02252004 Sports Page One
While Clemens also played for a number of franchises, including Boston and the Blue Jays, he achieved most of his success at the Yankees clubhouse, where he was a part of the team that won the World Series in 1999 and 2000. Besides, he also won the Cy Young seven times and the Triple Crown twice in his remarkable career. But this is not the only reason why Martinez’s latest statements are interesting.
For the unversed, Martinez’s statements come days after he slammed the Red Sox front office over the Rafael Devers and Craig Breslow feud that unfolded in public a few days ago. Making his point back then, Martinez backed Devers and said, “You have to be Devers to understand Devers. If you don’t treat the player, treat the money you’re paying him… Devers does not shy away from working… Devers is not a guy that talks much, he leads by example.” And now with the latest statements, he might have angered a few more Red Sox fans. Interestingly, even in the list of active MLB players, there is one Yankee player who has received immense appreciation from Martinez.
When Pedro Martinez accepted yet another Yankee Icon’s dominance
Pedro Martinez never shies away from expressing his real thoughts. Be it accepting himself to be the admirer of Clemens or referring to the Yankees as “Daddies” after the 2004 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Red Sox, when the Bronx outshone the Men in Red, Martinez has proven that his spirit for the game is more than anything else. And one such admission came for Aaron Judge as well.
Taking to his X, Martinez penned a heartfelt message for Judge and wrote, “Mi papá es Aaron Judge! Aaron Judge is my daddy! Happy 5 de Mayo!” In a separate post, he also lauded Judge’s evolution and wrote, “He’s not the same Aaron Judge I saw last year. He has made the adjustments to go to the opposite field, and it shows in his average. He’s even more dangerous now than he was when he had 60+ homers. He has improved and matured, and looks better!” And to be honest, who doesn’t like the Judge power?
Judge made a remarkable change in his style and started batting in a more squared stance, resulting in an 18-degree shift. Besides, he has already hit 21 home runs so far and his en-route to making more history. Coming back to Martinez, it will be interesting to see how the Red Sox fans absorb his Yankees favoritism in recent times. Will it lead to some banter? Well, that remains to be seen.
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