t will be remembered as ''El Ano del Pedro,'' a fin de siecle performance by Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez that took its place among the greatest by any Sox pitcher while challenging the best of any modern-day pitcher, including Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson.
Martinez won 23 games while losing just four, and his earned run average of 2.40 was less than half of the league average (4.86). Martinez also struck out a league-leading 313 batters while walking just 37, and entered the realm of legend when, in the deciding game of the AL division series against the Cleveland Indians, pitched six hitless innings of relief despite a strained muscle in the back of his shoulder.
Everyone was surprised by Brian Daubach, who thinks he has a game-winning grand slam, only to see it go foul. No matter, he would send the next pitch off the wall. (Globe Photo Jim Davis)
A magical season came to a crashing halt in the ALCS, as Scott Brosius and the Yankees barreled over Jason Varitek and Co. in five games.
(Globe Photo / Barry Chin)
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Boston, despite the loss of free agent Mo Vaughn, won 94 games and became the first Sox team since World War I to go to the postseason in consecutive seasons. For this achievement, Jimy Williams was named the American League's Manager of the Year, as he overcame a season-shortening injury to closer Tom Gordon and three trips to the DL by starter Bret Saberhagen to guide the Sox to the playoffs.
The Sox, who had not won a postseason series since 1986, staged an improbable comeback from a two-games-to-none deficit to win the AL division series against the Indians, outslugging the major leagues' highest-scoring team in the final two games.
In a year in which they hosted what many have called the most memorable All-Star experience ever - including an epic showing by Mark McGwire in the home run derby and a heart-tugging salute to Hall of Famer Ted Williams in a pregame ceremony - the Sox finished the year by meeting the Yankees for the first time ever in a postseason series. The Yankees won their AL Championship Series, four games to one, but not before the Sox humiliated their former ace, Roger Clemens, in a matchup against Martinez that was promoted like a heavyweight title bout.
General manager Dan Duquette, who endured withering criticism after Vaughn's departure, was vindicated by the performance of newcomers Jose Offerman, who hit .429 in the postseason as the Red Sox leadoff man, and Brian Daubach, a minor-league journeyman who inherited Vaughn's role as lefthanded slugger and hit 21 home runs. Catcher Jason Varitek had a breakthrough season, and Derek Lowe became one of the league's best relievers, making their acquisition from Seattle two years before one of Duquette's finest hours. And shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, Duquette's first draft pick after he was hired by Boston in 1994, won the AL batting crown with a .357 average.
But the 1900s ended with the Red Sox going 81 years without a World Series title, and 2000 begins with plans for the construction of a new Fenway Park.
Appropriately, Pedro Martinez was the center of attention in celebrating the AL playoff victory over Cleveland. (Globe Photo / Barry Chin)