Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez Names His Successor In Yankees Rivalry: 'New Daddy!'

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees could once again be arch-rivals in 2024, and no one seems more excited about that possibility than Pedro Martinez.

Not only is Martinez a Red Sox icon, but he was one of the faces of baseball's most passionate rivalry in the early 2000s. The image of him throwing 72-year-old Don Zimmer to the ground at Fenway Park during the 2003 American League Championship Series will echo through the rivalry's lore forever.

Fast forward two decades, and Martinez is a television host and a major Red Sox brand ambassador, sporting a Boston cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. He's got a positive outlook for the future of the franchise heading into 2025, and he's singled out one player he's excited to see don his old uniform.

Walker Buehler, who recorded the final out against the Yankees in the 2024 World Series as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, has Martinez's attention after signing a one-year contract to become a staple of the Red Sox's rotation.

“I have been a fan of him, and him a fan of me,” Martinez said Tuesday, per Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald (subscription required).

“He’s gonna go to New York and they’re gonna remember that he was the one that shot them down. He’s gonna be intimidating, he’s gonna be booed, and he’s gonna be hated by the Yankees because of what he did. Same thing happened to me.”

Yankee fans used to taunt Martinez with the infamous chant, "Who's your daddy?" which Martinez eventually threw back in the Yankees' face by saying, "Who's your daddy now?" after the Red Sox won the World Series. Now, he's appointing Buehler as his latest successor as a Yankee irritant.

“New daddy!” Martinez exclaimed.