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Pedro Martinez Chosen as 1 of 10 'Immortals' in New Baseball's Greatest Players Project originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It doesn't take an engineering degree from Harvard or MIT to determine that Pedro Martinez is one of the greatest baseball players of all-time.
Furthermore, any list of greatest players ever that does not include Martinez isn't worth paying attention to in the first place. So let's just get that out of the way first.
The latest such attempt to pick baseball's GOATs offers a unique presentation with a different take on ranking players. ESPN's Paul Hembekides, a.k.a. "Hembo" from GetUp, is teaming up with The Sporting News on a months-long project to unveil the 140 greatest players in baseball history.
But it's not a ranking!
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Instead, he came up with 14 "rooms" — each consisting of 10 players and representing a different archetype of greatness with players joined by a common thread.
"The Immortals" is the first group of players and includes Martinez.
Per Hembekides, "They shattered barriers. They broke records. They captivated nations. They inspired millions. Their imprint endures."
"Jackie Robinson famously said, 'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.' That sentiment defines the 10 players in this collection. Beyond the 2,632 consecutive games, the 511 wins, and the 56-game hit streak are lives that transcended the game, and transformed it in ways that will endure until the end of time."
So what exactly qualifies Pedro as an Immortal?
"It was the apex of the steroid era, the most hitter-friendly environment in history, in which Pedro Martínez delivered the most dominant two-year run any pitcher ever has."
"Through the 1998 season, only once had a pitcher struck out 10 hitters in seven consecutive games (1977 Nolan Ryan), a feat Pedro achieved twice in 1999. In 2000, Pedro became the first qualified pitcher to record twice as many strikeouts (284) as hits allowed (128) in a season."
Not too shabby!
In addition to Martinez, 'The Immortals' also includes Cy Young whose MLB-record 511 wins included 192 in Boston, tied with Roger Clemens for the most in franchise history.
Martinez and Young were joined in the first group of 10 players by Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripen Jr., Honus Wagner, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial and Satchel Paige.
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