In his MVP season in 2008 Pedroia hit 54 doubles and had 213 hits, marks that are good enough for third best and fifth best, respectively, in Red Sox history. Despite playing only 1512 games in his career compared to 1865 for fellow great Bobby Doerr, Pedroia has more doubles and has two 200+ hit seasons to Doerr’s zero. In fact if his career ended today here’s where he’d rank in team history: Sixth in doubles and stolen bases, eighth in hits, tenth in batting average (modern era, min 4000 PA) and runs scored, 15th in RBI, and 18th in home runs. Quite simply put, Pedroia could make every play you wanted a second baseman to make and even the ones that seemed impossible.
He could jump up and get the ball if he needed to, he could charge the ball, and he could go back into the outfield. His ability to make a double play happen with a runner bearing down on him or to get the ball to his shortstop under duress had no match in the league. Going towards the second base bag he had range that was almost as good to go along with a slick backhand and the ability to make a throw from anywhere. Before the ball was halfway across the infield on a sharply hit grounder he was almost always in position to make an incredible play. Pedroia’s range moving towards his glove side was absurd. He holds the highest fielding percentage in major league history at his position at. For years Pedroia made every single play. Pedroia is no exception, he was very gifted offensively, but the first thing I think about with him is his defense. Sure, some like Carl Yastrzemski and Tris Speaker were excellent fielders, but offensively they were just as gifted. When going back to study all of these Red Sox greats, it was usually the offensive prowess of the players that drew me to include them on this team. So, he delivered, and he delivered again and again and again until his body finally gave out. He was the best to ever play the position in team history because he demanded perfection from himself and was furious when he didn’t deliver. This anticipation and need to be always in motion told us so much about the absurdly hard-working Pedroia. Remember that? His hop happened before every play, just as the batter was starting his load and the pitcher was about to deliver the ball, Pedroia would crouch down and hop up to get himself in the best position to go in any direction that the ensuing play might take him. Heck, you could spot him in the field in an All-Star game when he wasn’t even wearing his Red Sox jersey. From across the bar or another room, you could see the broadcast and you didn’t need to be close enough to see a name or a number. You always knew when you were watching Dustin Pedroia even if you couldn’t see his face.
#2006 red sox roster series#
Honors: 2008 American League MVP, 2007 American League Rookie of the Year, 2x World Series Champion, 4x All-Star, 4x Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, 2013 Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year
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