In April 1994, 22-year-old Pedro Martinez took the mound for his second start with the Montreal Expos, freshly traded from the Dodgers. He was six outs away from a perfect game against the Reds when things got chippy with Reggie Sanders. Martinez had struck Sanders out twice, each time backing him off the plate with high heat. On the third at-bat, Pedro went inside again but this time hit him. Sanders charged the mound, threw his glove, and tackled Pedro without throwing a punch. Benches cleared, but it was mostly posturing. Nobody landed anything. Just a bunch of guys holding each other back and chatting.
Pedro stayed in the game, still chasing a no-hitter. He got through the eighth inning clean, but a soft grounder in the ninth broke it up. Still, it was a dominant performance for a guy making just his fifth career start. The Montreal fans were all in. Pedro tipped his cap, high-fived the mascot, and soaked it in. The perfect game and the no-hitter were both gone, but the crowd loved it. For Pedro, it was the start of something bigger.