What Do Pedro & The Electric Company Have In Common?

They both made their debuts on the exact same day: October 25, 1971.

I discovered this not long ago, when I was reading an article online about "The Electric Company." The day it made its PBS debut (on Channel 13 here in New York) rang a bell with me, and I went to Pedro's profile on Baseball Reference and confirmed that Pedro was born in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic on the day the world first saw the show.

I'll admit to being a big fan of both, and always will be. "The Electric Company" (the original, not the hip-hop remake currently on) was simply the coolest kids show of all-time. You had to love such characters as Easy Reader, Mellow Mel Mounds and J. Arthur Crank. Even as I was growing up and long past the age that the show was targeted at, I would sneak a peak at the show.

And of course, Pedro Martinez is just one of the coolest guys ever to wear a Red Sox uniform. He's "One of the 25," and will live forever in the hearts and minds of Sox fans like me who simply marveled at the greatness he showed at his best.

And speaking of best, here are YouTube clips from both. The first is Pedro, from MLB Network, on his pitching what I consider to be the greatest game I have ever seen pitched: September 10, 1999 when he struck out 17 Yankees in New York and allowed just a home run to Chili Davis in a 3-1 Red Sox win. (Still the most amazing stat of the night was the fact that Scott Brosius grounded out to third to lead off the fifth, and it was the last fair ball New York hit on the night. Of the last 14 batters to face Pedro in the game, 12 struck out and the other two fouled out. Simply astounding.)

Second is "The Electric Company" opening titles from its sixth and final season in 1976-77.

They both came into the world on the same day, and left an amazing impression on most who saw them and will turn 40 next October. They were both the essence of cool, and may they both rock on forever.