Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez Has Eye-Opening Thoughts on New Boston Ace

Garrett Crochet was phenomenal in year one as the Boston Red Sox's ace, but can he repeat last year's performance? Perhaps even improve upon it?

If anyone knows what that sort of consistency requires, it's Pedro Martinez.

Martinez, who won back-to-back Cy Young Awards in a Red Sox uniform in 1999 and 2000, recently spoke about his impressions of Crochet during his yearly trip to be a guest instructor at spring training. Let's just say Red Sox fans will enjoy seeing what he had to say.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Pedro Martinez calls Crochet "true ace"

Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (35) reacts during the seventh inning of game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

First, Martinez touched upon what having a guy like Crochet meant to the Red Sox, and praised chief baseball officer Craig Breslow for getting him to be the foundation of what is quickly becoming a scary rotation.

"When I watched Crochet, I watched exactly what they did in ’98 (when I got here),” Martinez told MLB.com's Ian Browne. “There’s a guy that you can build a team around, and hopefully that's what Breslow and the rest of the organization will do -- build a team around a true ace and the rest of the staff can actually feed off what he does."

Then, Martinez compared Crochet favorably to himself, which is about as high as praise can get when considering how filthy the Dominican-born righty was in Boston at his peak.

“I think he’s probably got better stuff (than I did) when it comes to velo and stamina. He’s very consistent in staying right above 97 and 98 [mph],” Martinez said. “And a beautiful body to look at. You don't have to worry. He proved to everybody that all he needed was just to get a year under his belt, to get totally healthy, and he's been able to work his way around everything he needs to do, and he looks relatively fresh every time he pitches. That's amazing to see.

Most Red Sox fans probably don't need to be told at this point that Crochet, who finished second in Cy Young Award voting last year, is a rockstar.

But even if Martinez is a bit of a homer, seeing this sort of respect from a Hall of Famer lets you know that Crochet is good enough to join Martinez in Cooperstown someday, if he can only nail down the longevity aspect of things.