Though he became a Boston Red Sox legend, Pedro Martinez didn't badly desire to become a member of the Sox before he was traded from the Montreal Expos. He actually wanted to join their biggest rival.
Martinez was eager to become join the New York Yankees. Things would've been quite different had he become a member of Boston's sworn enemy in 1998.
“Yes, all the time,” Martinez wrote on a Bleacher Report live chat Tuesday, according to the New York Post. “I asked to be traded to the Yankees 3 times before I got to Boston…I was the last one left on [Montreal’s] rotation and when I was asked where I wanted to be, at that exact moment [the] yankees were taking off, I wanted to be somewhere that I could win.”
The Red Sox traded Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr. to the Montreal Expos for Martinez, and the rest is history. The three-time Cy Young Award-winning right-hander would go on to win two of those awards, as well as the 2004 World Series championship, with Boston. Martinez is one of the best to ever put on a Red Sox uniform, racking up a 117-37 record with a 2.52 ERA, 1,683 strikeouts and a 0.978 WHIP in seven seasons with Boston.
The Red Sox weren't even on Martinez's radar, as he also asked to be traded to the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles or San Francisco Giants, according to the Post.
Clearly, Boston was fortunate they were able to land the Hall of Famer. The Yankees, who won three consecutive titles from 1998-2000, didn't fare too badly in the immediate aftermath of not landing Martinez, either.
Boston Red Sox
Find the latest Boston Red Sox news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.