2) Pedro Martinez's first year with the Mets was one of the best of his time
Pedro Martinez came to the Mets in 2005 after a formidable career with the Boston Red Sox where he established himself as one of the greatest pitchers of all time in baseball history. Pedro comes to the organization after signing a four-year, $53 million contract during Omar Minaya's tenure as general manager of the Mets.
The hype created around his arrival in Queens was enormous. A pitcher of Martinez's caliber having pitched one of the best careers in history in the steroids era and having won three Cy Young Awards and a World Series title was significant for a team that wanted to switch to a winning culture.
In his first year, he did not disappoint. Pedro finished 2005 with 31 starts where he posted a 2.82 ERA with 208 strikeouts in 217 innings pitched. That same year he was selected to the All-Star Game representing the National League. Martinez's numbers gave him the fifth-highest WAR of his career at 7.0 and his 0.949 WHIP was the best in all of MLB.
Despite having put a few years of low productivity into his contract, Pedro Martinez's 2005 season with the Mets, resulted in the second-best season for a Queen's pitcher in the 2000s.