SHOWDOWN HALL OF FAME: Pedro Martinez

The first pitcher inducted into the Showdown Hall of Fame was at his peak when the glorious card game this site celebrated was introduced. Producing the most valuable card (by points value) in both the 00 and 01 sets, Pedro led the majors in ERA, WHIP, and K while garnering over 40 wins. Over the course of his 18 major league seasons, Pedro led the majors in ERA five times, WHIP six times, and K three times. He took home three Cy Youngs and famously helped the Boston Red Sox break their curse in 2004.

Enjoy looking back at some of Pedro's most memorable seasons, from his rise to stardom in Montreal, to his incredibly dominate years in Boston at the turn of the century, to a final Cy Young-level season as a New York Met. We're happy to present an extremely deserving Showdown Hall of Famer, Pedro Martinez!



1994: After serving the Dodgers as a rookie reliever (4th in ROY voting) in 1993, Pedro was traded to the Expos. They plugged him into the rotation and he delivered beyond expectation in the strike shortened season. Pedro was a bit erratic, leading the bigs in hit batsmen, which was a harbinger for his fearsome, fire-balling reputation in the seasons to come. This was not his best season, but it was a crucial breakout year and makes Pedro a member of Montreal's most memorable team (which can be seen in whole on this site)!

1997: Pedro's last season in Montreal was easily his best one. He led the majors in ERA, posting his first sub-2 ERA and absolutely gobbling up innings. He threw 13 complete games, leading the big leagues. He also led the majors in WHIP! This produced an awesome card equal to the classic 00/01 original editions! Tier 1, but with an IP 8 rather than the typical 7. As good of an ace as you can find, it's easy to see why Boston jumped all over him in Free Agency for the 1998 season.

1999: The season responsible for many of our fondest memories of Pedro Martinez. The incredible All Star game, where Pedro motored through an incredible and imposing NL line up without breaking a sweat. The incredible card that solidified the MLB Showdown 2000 set. This was the only season where Pedro would lead the majors in wins, with a career high 23 victories. Pedro once again led the bigs in ERA and WHIP, justifying his Tier One status. Perhaps most amazing was his epic K-rate, striking out over 13 players/9 innings. Obviously there's no touching the amazing original card, but have fun with this homage using our formulas (it's basically the same) and remember how great Pedro was in his prime.

2000: Pedro took home his third and final Cy Young in 2000, when he somehow improved on his epic 1999 campaign. With a career low ERA (1.74!) and WHIP (.737!!!) in the heart of the steroid era, Pedro Martinez put up arguably the best single season of all time in 2000. This card reflects that incredible accomplishment and (just like it's 01 official counterpart) appears to be the best SP card we have yet to produce! A true building block, enjoy PRIME PEDRO!

2002: After an injury plagued 2001, Pedro came back in full force in 2002. Someone coming in as the runner up for the Cy Young, he put up a major league-leading 2.26 ERA and another MLB leading WHIP (under 1.0, again). Pedro also dominated in the W-L department, getting a 20-4 record. He even led the bigs in overall strikeouts! Unfortunately, the Red Sox 93 wins were not enough to garner a postseason berth and the Cy Young went to 23 win (and 2.75 ERA) Barry Zito of the 99 win Oakland A's. Personally, I think writers were distracted by teammate Derek Lowe's 21 wins and thus did not give Pedro his proper due. Enjoy this forgotten season, which is by any measurement, a real gem!

2003: Unfortunately, this season will be mainly remembered for two instances- the fight with Coach Zimmer and staying in the game too late in the ALCS. It really is a pity, because Pedro put up another triumph of a season! He lead the major leagues with a 2.22 ERA and also had the best WHIP, K/9 innings, FIP, and ERA+. Again, he did this during the heart of the steroid era, against the most inflated offensive lineups in baseball history. Remember this sensational card and not the terrible ALCS catastrophe, for a legend's sake!

2004: This is easily the worst Pedro card of this bunch. His ERA soared from 2.22 to a more human 3.90, and his K rate dropped while his WHIP rose too. However, there is no way to really criticize what Pedro accomplished this season: bringing a World Series title to Boston! The Red Sox added Curt Schilling to the rotation and with less of a pitching load to bear, Pedro was able to lead the squad to victory. This is another classic team that Pedro was a part of, and the whole 04 Red Sox can be found in an earlier post on this site!

2005: Sadly, this was Pedro's last full season in the big leagues. After heading to the Big Apple, Pedro had one amazing year left in him for the Mets. He broke the 3.00 ERA barrier again, with a 2.82 ERA that ranked fourth among qualifying pitchers. Even more impressively, for the final time, Pedro finished the year with the best WHIP in the big leagues. Sadly, his great season did not translate to more postseason baseball, but it cannot be forgotten that leaving Boston was not the end of peak Pedro.

So the current Showdown HOF membership goes to the most elite cards of:

LF Barry Bonds

SP Pedro Martinez

Keep making suggestions, the HOF will grow for a while, I'm sure!