Three Strikes: History in the unmaking edition 

October, 1, 2009
10/01/09
12:20
PM ET
When history is made in baseball, half the planet is there to chronicle it. But when history is unmade, well, apparently that's Three Strikes' niche. So on with this blog …

STRIKE ONE -- TAKE THE OVER DEPT.

Little did Pedro Martinez know that when he took the mound in Philadelphia on Wednesday, there was much, much more than the Phillies' NL East clincher riding on it.

Pedro Martinez

Martinez

The fate of all starting pitchers in the '00s was riding on it.

Huh? How's that? Well, as loyal reader Eric Orns reported to us recently, there had been only one "decade" since 1900 -- the 1920s -- that didn't produce at least one starting pitcher who had an ERA under 3.00. But as Pedro headed for the mound Wednesday, he was the only remaining starter in the '00s who still had a shot.

In fact, he began the night with an ERA of exactly 3.00 for the "decade." So the pressure was on. Here was his assignment:


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Jayson Stark | email

Senior Writer, ESPN.com
  • Senior writer for ESPN.com
  • 21 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer
  • Author of two baseball books

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Jayson Stark
Jayson Stark

Jayson Stark has been a senior baseball writer for ESPN.com since 2000. His regular contributions include the newsy Rumblings and Grumblings column, his eclectic "Three Strikes" blog and his tilted look inside baseball's numbers and quirks, the Useless Information Department.

Stark also makes regular television appearances on "SportsCenter," "Outside the Lines" and "Baseball Tonight." He is a regular ESPN Radio guest of Mike & Mike, the Doug Gottlieb Show, the John Kinkade Show, ESPN Radio tonight and numerous other shows on the network.

Before arriving at ESPN, Stark worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer for 21 years. He was twice named Pennsylvania's sportswriter of the year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. In 2010, he was honored by the Foster Conference for Distinguished Writers for his books and other work. He is the author of two books, "The Stark Truth: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players in Baseball History" (Triumph Books, 2006) and "Worth The Wait: Tales of the 2008 Phillies" (Triumph Books, 2009).

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