Whether Pedro Martinez is the greatest pitcher ever is still up for debate, but when it comes to pure dominance, there’s no argument. In his prime, the Boston legend was every hitter’s worst nightmare. The three-time Cy Young winner earned a reputation as one of the most intimidating pitchers Major League Baseball ever witnessed. Especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Martinez’s pitches were almost unhittable. Anyone who ever faced him would have a story to tell.

Face a pitcher like that once, and it’s a moment etched in your memory for life. Jerry Hairston Jr. enjoyed a remarkable 16-season journey in Major League Baseball, playing for nine different teams. When he looks back at his career, which spanned from 1998 to 2013, he still remembers the first time he faced Martinez.

“First time I ever faced him. First pitch at my head — I, like, froze. It was a breaking ball,” Hairston recalled while being on the BSBLR show.

“His breaking stuff was nasty. His fastball jumped on you. Now he’d sit at 92, 93 to move it around, and then throw that 97–98, and it acted like it was a hundred miles an hour to the human eye. His change-up was unbelievable, too. So he’s a three-pitch pitcher, but he had every pitch that was elite, and he also brought that fear factor,” he continued.

Hairston is right. The combination of velocity and command made Martinez incredibly hard to hit. He even holds the modern MLB record for the highest ERA+ in a single season. His ERA of 1.74 in 2000 was 2.98 points ahead of the season average of 4.92. His ERA+ for that season was 291 which was the best since 1893. The 8-time All-Star eventually finished his career with a 2.93 ERA, 3,154 strikeouts, and a 219–100 record.

A talent like Martinez is rare to come across. No wonder even a former Yankee is singing praises of him. Yes, Hairston Jr., a career .259 hitter, was also part of the World Series Champion 2009 New York Yankees team.

It’s not common for a Yankee to heap praises on a Red Sox and vice-versa. But interestingly, Martinez himself also praised the Yanks earlier this month,

Pedro Martinez praises the Yankees

Martinez’s career is most remembered for his time with the Boston Red Sox. He was the face of the team’s fierce competitiveness. And when he took the mound against their biggest rivals, the Yankees, the diamond turned into a battlefield. Now, imagine a player like him praising the culture of the mighty Yanks. Hard to believe, right? But yes, that happened.

“The thing that impresses me the most is how the Yankees present themselves. The culture that they have. It’s a presence unlike anybody else. It must be the pinstripes,” he said during a Yankees-Royals game earlier this month.

Anyone who saw Martinez pitch in 2004, at the peak of the rivalry, would have a hard time processing that praise. And this came just weeks after he showered compliments on Yankees superstar Aaron Judge, too.

“Mi papá es Aaron Judge! Aaron Judge is my daddy! Happy 5 de Mayo!” Martinez posted on X, praising the Yankees captain. Now, that’s a lot for the Red Sox fans to swallow, isn’t it?