In the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox came back from three games to none, eventually forcing the New York Yankees to Game 7. During the do-or-die situation at Yankee Stadium, famed Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez was unexpectedly called to the mound in the seventh inning while the Sox were up 8-1.
“I had no business being in that game,” Martínez told In The Moment’s David Greene. “I had a day’s rest.” Martínez had just pitched in Game 6 and was not supposed to play, especially with such a large Boston lead. He only had a few pitches to warm up, and Martínez let up two runs, giving the Yankees momentum.
It was a tense inning, and Red Sox fans were dreading a repeat of the 2003 season, when the Yankees won in Game 7. But Martínez drew strength from Yankees fans, who were taunting him with chants of “Who’s Your Daddy!! Pedro! Pedro!!”
He eventually retired Yankee’s John Olerud and Miguel Cairo to escape the inning.
The Red Sox went on to beat the Yankees 10-3 and advanced to the World Series where they would sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. That championship was the first one for the Red Sox in 86 years, breaking the infamous “Curse of the Bambino.”
All these years later, that season is one of the most memorable in baseball history. And it still leaves Martínez wondering how he ended up on the mound.
“I’m still searching for an answer,” he said. “No one explained to me why.”