Against prime Pedro, he improbably smacked a pair of doubles in the eventual 2-1 victory, earning himself another start when the Yankees faced Pedro later that month, when he continued his hot streak. Soriano subsequently was forced from the game, and Wilson entered for him. Yankees fans who followed the intense rivalry in 2003 probably recall this game as the one where Pedro went up and in on both Soriano and Jeter at the very start of the game. He got his shot though in a July 7th matchup against Pedro and the Red Sox. With a loaded infield that featured established players like Derek Jeter, Alfonso Soriano, Robin Ventura, and later Aaron Boone, Wilson was inevitably going to struggle for playing time.
"He's our little secret weapon." - Jorge Posada
The other was embarrassingly misplaying a ball while starting out of position in right field during a game in 2002, en error that enraged owner George Steinbrenner and led to him trading for the unpopular Raul Mondesi. One was nearly faceplanting around the bases for the Indians while scoring the go-ahead run in Game 2 of the 1998 ALCS, when the Yankees' Chuck Knoblauch infamously argued a call rather than continuing the play. He was merely a role player who, up until the 2003 season, was known only for two things. Like Pedro, Wilson hailed from the Dominican Republic, though he did not come to majors with nearly the promise of Pedro. The oddly-shaped man with the strange batting stance and a similarly poor -5.2 career WAR is Enrique Wilson, an infielder on the Yankees for about three and a half years. Despite these odds, this was the man destined to become Pedro's nemesis: By some measures, he was even the worst position player in franchise history. He wasn't an accomplished hitter or any means. However, in the middle of the 2001 season, the Yankees unwittingly acquired their so-called "little secret weapon" against Pedro.
In perhaps his greatest game, he struck out 17 Yankees and only allowed a hit once, when DH Chili Davis just guessed correctly. He could steamroll over them just like they were the Devil Rays' Double-A affiliate, even when they were in heat of their dynasty years. He was ludicrous.Īlthough the Yankees were one of the few teams capable of beating Pedro, that doesn't mean they had his number or anything like that (" Who's your daddy" quotes aside). His absurdity was beautifully detailed by Jeff Sullivan at FanGraphs the other day. In his 1999-2003 peak with the Red Sox, he was almost unhittable, striking out batters left and right while recording ERAs below 2.30 at a time when pitchers would have been lucky to be around 4.00.
The Dominican righty was an absolutely dominant force in the '90s and 2000s, and he has a legitimate case as at least one of the 20 greatest pitchers of all-time. Few opposing pitchers have ever been more associated with the Yankees than Pedro Martinez, who earlier this week was quite deservedly voted into the Hall of Fame.
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