Years after Pedro, Beckett, Sox a fitting foe for Tribe

CLEVELAND — Readers of a certain age — say, in the 0-to-6-month-old range — won’t remember this, but there was a time when Cleveland’s far-too-infrequent professional sports postseason entrants were met with tortuous results. And for fans of the Indians — a team that hasn’t won a World Series championship since 1948 — those results have left lasting memories that weren’t necessarily extinguished by LeBron James and Co. back in June.

This American League Division Series that begins Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, TBS) between the Indians and Boston Red Sox brings those memories right back to the forefront. Because while nothing tops the heartbreak of falling two outs shy of a title in Game 7 in 1997, the fact of the matter is that the Tribe’s two greatest opportunities to get back to the World Series stage in the aftermath of that mess against the Marlins were both snuffed out by Boston in spectacularly soul-crushing fashion, involving Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez and, believe it or not, pop icon Taylor Swift.

So maybe it’s only fitting that the best Indians team in nearly a decade is going to have to exact revenge on the Red Sox if it’s going to advance.

Game Date Time Matchup TV Gm 1 Oct. 6 8 p.m. BOS @ CLE TBS Gm 2 Oct. 7 4:30 p.m. BOS @ CLE TBS Gm 3 Oct. 9 4 p.m. CLE @ BOS TBS *Gm 4 Oct. 10 TBD CLE @ BOS TBS *Gm 5 Oct. 12 TBD BOS @ CLE TBS *- If necessary | All times listed ETShop for postseason gear: Red Sox | Indians • Complete Postseason coverage

Obviously, the members of this current Tribe club have no connection to what happened the last time the Indians faced the Red Sox in October, because none of them were here yet. Heck, Terry Francona was in the other dugout.

But the rest of us can’t help but look at this matchup and remember the way the Red Sox were twice responsible for a dream denied.

Let’s review!

1999 ALDS

Had the Red Sox ended their own curse in ’99, not 2004, Game 5 of this series would be at the absolute forefront of any discussion about Martinez’s great career. As it stands, it’s more of a fantastic footnote.

But Indians fans definitely remember it all too well.

The Indians had many great offensive clubs in the 1990s, but this might have been their best. They became just the seventh modern-era team — and still the only one since 1950 — to score 1,000 runs in a season, and they were shut out only three times. Manny Ramirez, a year away from the free agency that would land him in Boston, drove in 165 runs, a mark that still stands as the most since Jimmie Foxx’s 175 RBIs in 1938.

Oh, but Pedro. He was incredible. That season, Pedro turned in a 2.07 ERA and 243 adjusted ERA+ (that’s 143 percent better than league average, which doesn’t really seem possible). This was Pedro at his peak.

The problem for the Red Sox was that Pedro was hurt.

He left Game 1 of this series in the fifth inning with back and shoulder issues, and the Indians pounced an inning later to take the lead and the game. Going into the decisive Game 5 at what was then known as Jacobs Field, the Red Sox didn’t have their ace available to stymie that epic Indians offense, which took an early 8-7 lead on Jim Thome’s monstrous home run off Derek Lowe.

But just then, as Thome was taking his curtain call, there was stirring in the Boston bullpen.

Pedro? Pedro.

As Pedro warmed on that cold Cleveland night, trying to …

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