Never Forget Pedro Martinez Blew His Perfect Game by Hitting Reggie Sanders and Then Got Beat up

There weren't many lowlights in the career of Pedro Martinez, who was as dominant as any pitcher in baseball from 1993-2005. The Hall of Fame right-hander won three Cy Young awards, was an eight-time All-Star, a five-time ERA champ, and even won pitching's AL Triple Crown with the Boston Red Sox in 1999.

In sum, it was a rarity that Martinez made an absolute fool of himself on the mound. Ironically enough, one of his greatest miscues came in a dominant outing against the Cincinnati Reds back in 1994, which marked just the fifth start of his young career.

Petey was spinning a perfect game when Reggie Sanders came to bat with one out in the eighth inning. After jumping ahead 0-2 in the count, the Montreal Expos hurler beaned Sanders with a high-and-tight fastball.

Not only did Martinez lose the perfecto by hitting a batter he had struck out twice earlier, but the Reds outfielder charged the mound and proceeded to make light work of No. 45. Pedro obviously didn't mean to plunk Sanders -- just look at his reaction -- but the third consecutive inside heater was enough to prompt him to bullrush the rising Expos star.

This, of course, wasn't the only brawl that Martinez played a major role in across his MLB career. Perhaps it truly set the stage for his eventual tossing of New York Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground during the 2003 ALCS. It was simply meant to be.