Twenty years ago, the Boston Red Sox were in the 82nd year of the Curse of the Bambino. There was some hope, though, in the form of the most electric pitcher in baseball.
That pitcher, of course, was Pedro Martinez. The Red Sox legend was coming off a historic 1999 season in which he earned his second Cy Young Award and finished as the American League MVP runner-up. His 23 wins, 2.07 ERA, and 313 strikeouts topped the league, and he continued to exert his dominance over opposing hitters the following season.
Sports Illustrated previewed the 2000 campaign by featuring Martinez on their iconic cover. They even went as far as to predict the Red Sox would win a World Series title with Martinez leading the charge.
On Friday, Martinez took a trip down memory lane and posted the cover to Twitter.
How's that for nostalgia?
Obviously, the Red Sox had to wait four more years before they finally broke the curse. Still, that's a cover to hold on to if you still have some old Sports Illustrated magazines laying around your household.
In 2000, Martinez earned his third Cy Young, going 18-6 with a 1.74 ERA, 284 strikeouts, and an absurd 0.74 WHIP.