Pedro Martinez's latest Yankees tweets sound like he's been hacked

When New York Yankees fans think of legendary Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez, a few words come to mind. Antagonist is certainly one. The sing-songy phrase, "Who's your daddy?" is another.

For years, Martinez tormented the Yankees and their fans whenever he took the mound to oppose the Bombers, making him the prime target of the Bleacher Creatures whenever the Yankees would take the upper hand.

After so much history of bad blood between Martinez and the Yankees, one would think that the former Boston great wouldn't have too many kind words for his arch nemesis.

That's why, when he heaped praise on the Yankees organization the other day, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a hoax.

Pedro, are you okay? Did you get hacked? Are you being held against your will somewhere? Did you bump your head and forget which borough you actually played your twilight years in?

In all seriousness, despite the rivalry, Martinez has always had an affinity for the Yankees, asking for a trade to New York several times throughout his career. Taking a deeper look, of course, Pedro admires the Yankees so much that, over a decade after his playing career ended, he can't help but compliment them.

Despite last winning a championship in 2009, defeating Martinez and the Philadelphia Phillies in what would be Pedro's final season, the Yankees remain one of the premier sports franchises in the entire world. For a kid growing up poor in the outskirts of Santo Domingo in the baseball-obsessed Dominican Republic, the Yankees meant something.

Today, the Boston Red Sox are the most popular MLB team in the Dominican Republic due to their recent history of employing Dominican stars such as Pedro and David Ortiz. For many years, it was the Yankees who reigned supreme. Yankee pinstripes were the summit of the baseball world for kids growing up there in the 70s and 80s, like Pedro, hoping to make it big in baseball and accomplish the life-changing dream.

So it makes sense that the long-time instigator would, deep in his heart, have a soft spot for the Yankees and, in a way, rightly call out the franchise for their culture of greatness. But Pedro also got more specific, heaping mounds of praise on a certain current Yankee as well.

Pedro Martinez lavishes Yankees ace Max Fried with praise after another dominant outing

If there's one thing the Hall of Famer knows better than most, it's the art of pitching. Martinez made his career by making hitters look foolish, playing his Bugs Bunny changeup and wipeout breaking pitches off his fastball. So when he speaks about pitching, one would be wise to listen.

When the Yankees signed Max Fried back in the offseason, the idea was for him to be the Robin to Gerrit Cole's Batman. Well, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, but Fried has exceeded everyone's wildest dreams to this point in the season, looking like one of the early favorites for the AL Cy Young crown.

After a dud against the Dodgers, the lone blemish on his otherwise impeccable 2025 resume, Fried has put together back-to-back dominant starts, twirling six innings of scoreless one-hit ball on June 5 against the Guardians, and following that up with a seven-inning, two-earned-run performance on June 10 against the Royals.

It was the latter start that made Martinez take notice and heap praise on the Yankee southpaw with a flurry of tweets. Fried isn't your typical soft-tossing lefty with an average fastball velocity of 95.4 miles per hour, which ranks sixth among qualified left-handed starters this season. Despite that, he's not an overwhelming strikeout artist, preferring to utilize his entire repertoire to keep hitters off balance. This was the first thing that Pedro called out.

The Hall of Famer would also go on to credit Fried for the way he approaches the game, not just at that start but also as a whole, and how he goes about his business. He also gave the Yankees star his due for maintaining his dominant focus despite being staked to a huge early lead, something that can make lesser pitchers unravel.

Of course, Max Fried being a stud comes as no surprise to the Yankee faithful, but when greatness recognizes greatness, especially when that recognition comes from the other side of a bitter rivalry, it really hammers the point home.

Perhaps Pedro might not have been hacked after all. Despite suiting up against the Yankees during perhaps the most heated point in the storied rivalry, deep down, he's just a kid who grew up loving the pinstripes and appreciates the art of pitching. In that way, the hated rival is on our side.