Welcome to the Pedro Show

In his recent column regarding Pedro Martinez, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, "Martinez is pitcher and pied piper, leader of the staff and leader of the band."…

After attending last night’s game, I can attest that he is leader of the fans, as well…

I grew up in an era of Shea Stadium excitement.  I know what a shock from blue-n-orange electricty feels like…

Last night, though, I am proud to say I witnessed something I’ve never seen as a Mets fan: pure, unbridled enthusiasm coming from every seat in the building – and not just in the filled 40,000 seats in the stand, but also in the dugout, in the locker room, on the field, in the press box and, most importantly, on the other team’s bench…

All of us were in awe of Pedro…

It’s difficult for me to conjure up memories of the electricity that Dwight Gooden created, because my mind is also smeared with his failures.  And with Darryl Strawberry and Mike Piazza the excitement was limited to a few at-bats per game…

Last night, though, there was Pedro standing center stage for nearly the entire game, all for New York to see.  And the fans cheered him non-stop.  Every two-strike count sounded like the last pitch of a game.  Fans would stand, repeatedly cheer his name, clapping and hollering as though it were October.  But it wasn’t.  It was June.  On a Tuesday night…

Every time he showed his face – be it walking from the mound to the dugout, running to first, scoring a run, standing calmly in the on deck circle, or pointing to the sky in satisfied victory – the fans honored him with animation, appreciation and amazement…

Kaz Matsui turned a double play during the game.  It was nicely done.  Before stepping back to the mound, Pedro looked Matsui directly in the eyes and pumped his fist, as if to say, "Pedro believes in you."  Matsui smiled, pounded his fist in his glove and geared up for the next pitch, looking slightly more confident…

"It’s great, just what an energy he brings here," Mike Piazza said of his battery-mate.  "Aside from that, too, we always feel like we’re in the game."

In the fifth inning, as Carlos Beltran stepped to the plate with Pedro on third, he gave the same confident fist pump to Beltran, as if to say, "Come on friend, you can do it."  Beltran slapped a single and Pedro hustled home…

"Once every five days, there’s something special about watching us," Willie Randolph said of Pedro prior to the game.  "I like to think it’s my young kids, too, and the way we play.  But Pedro gives us that buzz."…

The game had been long over, and fans spiraled down the concrete walkways that wrap around Shea Stadium.  At that point, Pedro was probably primping in the mirror of the clubhouse, off the field and nowhere to be found by fans.  Yet, the cheering continued.  "Pedro, Pedro, Pedro," continued to echo from the ramps, to the walkway around Shea to the parking lots scattered around Flushing…

Two tall, lanky guys in their mid-twenties walked ahead of me.  They wore matching Martinez jerseys, Mets hats and Jeri Curl wigs to honor their idol…

Pounding the pavement walking towards the lower level of Shea, an older man walking behind me leaned into his wife and said, "Hey, stop when we get to the bottom, I wanna buy a Pedro jersey."…

I was thinking the same thing…