MLB All-Star Game 2013: Pedro Martinez and the greatest All-Star Game moment

Pedro Martinez was amazing, and possibly the greatest pitcher in the long history of baseball. You can argue about how injuries derailed his career and kept this from coming to pass, or counter that his peak wasn't long enough, or throw some other argument that I'm not going to listen to because it's Pedro Martinez we're talking about. Instead of getting into any kind of debate that ends with you being wrong about Pedro, though, let's just sit and enjoy an all-star flavored trip to the past.

To 1999, to be specific, when Pedro got the start in the All-Star Game for the American League, representing the Red Sox in Fenway Park's turn to host the mid-summer classic. All he did was whiff five of the first six batters while retiring all six in order, becoming the first pitcher ever to strike out the first three batters in the All-Star Game in the process. No big deal.

This wasn't a collection of nobodies or one-time all-stars, either. This was future Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Matt Williams, and Jeff Bagwell. In a decade or so, three more of those players might be in Cooperstown along with Larkin.

Matt Harvey, baseball loves you, but it's going to be hard to top this in your own start. He's got a good head start, though, as he's also pitching in his hometown park, and will have the crowd supporting his every positive move.

Read more Red Sox:

• Red Sox position prospects, in word cloud form


• Now is not the time for Xander Bogaerts


• Andrew Bailey needs to be the closer for the Red Sox


• Red Sox pitching prospects in word cloud form


• What to expect from Red Sox prospect Brandon Workman