MVP Profile: Dustin Pedroia, 2008

Second Baseman, Boston Red Sox

Age:  25 (Aug. 17)

2^nd season with Red Sox

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’9”    Weight: 170 

Prior to 2008:

A native of Woodland, California, Pedroia played Little League baseball, where he pitched and played shortstop. Small but a tough competitor (which would prove to be lasting traits), he also played quarterback on his high school football team until suffering a broken ankle. As a freshman at Arizona State in 2002, he batted .347 and in 2003 he led the Pacific-10 Conference in runs scored (83), hits (120), and doubles (34). He was selected as a second-team All-American by Baseball America. Pedroia also played in the Pan American Games with Team USA. After hitting .394 with ASU in 2004, he was selected by the Red Sox in the amateur draft and signed for a $575,000 bonus. Splitting time in 2004 with Class A Augusta and advanced Class A Sarasota he batted a combined .357 in 42 games. In 2005 he played for the Portland Sea Dogs of the Class AA Eastern League and the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Class AAA International League and hit a combined .294 with 28 doubles, 13 home runs, and 64 RBIs along with a .385 on-base percentage. Furthermore, he was rated as the best defensive second baseman in the Eastern League by Baseball America. Pedroia was also named to the International League All-Star team as a utility player (he appeared at second and third base as well as shortstop for Pawtucket). With Pawtucket in 2006, he batted .305 in 111 games and received a late-callup to Boston. Appearing in 31 games, mostly at second base, he batted just .191 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. Impressed with his progress through the minor leagues and his excellent batting discipline as well as defensive skill, the Red Sox projected Pedroia to be the starting second baseman in 2007. He had a Rookie of the Year season for the World Series-winning club, batting .317 with 39 doubles, 8 home runs, and 50 RBIs

2008 Season Summary

Appeared in 157 games

2B – 157, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 726 [4]

At Bats – 653 [3]

Runs – 118 [1]

Hits – 213 [1, tied with Ichiro Suzuki]

Doubles – 54 [1]

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 17

RBI – 83

Bases on Balls – 50

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 52

Stolen Bases – 20 [15, tied with Jason Bartlett & Coco Crisp]

Caught Stealing – 1

Average - .326 [2]

OBP - .376 [10, tied with Magglio Ordonez]

Slugging Pct. - .493 [19]

Total Bases – 322 [4]

GDP – 17 [20, tied with Jim Thome & Paul Konerko]

Hit by Pitches – 7

Sac Hits – 7 [12, tied with five others]

Sac Flies – 9 [3, tied with seven others]

League-leading runs scored were +6 ahead of runner-up Curtis Granderson

League-leading doubles were +3 ahead of runner-up Brian Roberts

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 28, HR – 9, RBI – 47, SB – 9, AVG - .314, OBP - .358, SLG - .458

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 6 AB) vs. Texas 8/12

Longest hitting streak – 17 games

Most HR, game – 1 on seventeen occasions

HR at home – 7

HR on road – 10

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Baltimore 9/2

Pinch-hitting – 2 for 2 (1.000) with 1 R, 1 2B & 2 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 733

Put Outs – 279

Assists – 448

Errors – 6

DP - 101

Pct. - .992

Postseason Batting: 11 G (ALDS vs. LAA 4 G; ALCS vs. TB – 7 G)

PA – 52, AB – 43, R – 9, H – 10, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 3, RBI – 6, BB – 7, IBB – 0, SO – 5, SB – 2, CS – 1, AVG - .233, OBP - .365, SLG - .488, TB – 21, GDP – 1, HBP – 2, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

Gold Glove

Silver Slugger

All-Star (Started for AL at 2B)

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Dustin Pedroia, Bos.: 317 points - 16 of 28 first place votes, 81% share

Justin Morneau, Min.: 257 points – 7 first place votes, 66% share

Kevin Youkilis, Bos.: 201 points – 2 first place votes, 51% share

Joe Mauer, Min.: 188 points – 2 first place votes, 48% share

Carlos Quentin, ChiWS.: 160 points – 41% share

(1 first place vote for Francisco Rodriguez, LAA, who ranked sixth)

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Red Sox went 95-67 to finish second in the AL Eastern Division, 2 games behind the division-winning Tampa Bay Rays and qualifying for a Wild Card playoff spot while leading the league in bases on balls drawn (646) and OBP (.358). The Red Sox had a 57-40 first half and spent 63 days in first place until losing two of three games at Tampa Bay in mid-September, taking the wild card slot instead. Won ALDS over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 3 games to 1. Lost ALCS to the Tampa Bay Rays, 4 games to 3.

Aftermath of 2008:

Pedroia again topped the AL in runs scored in 2009 with 115 while hitting .296 with a .371 OBP, 185 hits, 15 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. The feisty and outspoken Pedroia was performing well again in 2010 until suffering a broken bone in his foot. Limited to 75 games he ended up batting .288 with 12 home runs (including three in one game at Colorado, 41 RBIs, 9 stolen bases in 10 attempts, and a .367 OBP. Pedroia came back strong in 2011, hitting .307 with a .387 OBP, 21 home runs, 91 RBIs, and 26 stolen bases. Clearly established as a team leader, he won a second Gold Glove and placed ninth in league MVP voting. Along the way he put together a 25-game July hitting streak. Having suffered a major collapse to conclude the 2011 season, the Red Sox went through a 93-loss 2012 campaign. Pedroia hit .290 with a .347 OBP,15 home runs, and 65 RBIs and finished the season playing with a broken finger. Boston returned to the top of the AL East and won the World Series in 2013 and Pedroia, playing with a thumb injury that required surgery was signed to an eight-year, $110 million contract extension during a season in which he batted .301 with 42 doubles, 9 home runs, 84 RBIs, 193 hits, and a .372 OBP. He tied for seventh in league MVP balloting as well as being an All-Star and Gold Glove recipient. He added two home runs and 10 RBIs during the postseason run to a championship. Boston suffered through a down year in 2014 and Pedroia, dealing with hand and wrist injuries that shortened his season, hit .278 with 33 doubles, 7 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .337 OBP. In an injury-riddled 2015 season, he was limited to 93 games and finished with a .291 average, 12 home runs, and 42 RBIs. Staying in good health in 2016, he batted .318 with 36 doubles, 15 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a .376 on-base percentage. Injuries ate away at Pedroia’s playing time in 2017, and while still effective when healthy, he was limited to 105 games and hit .293. Following knee surgery, he played in only three games in 2018. Continuing knee problems that required further surgery held him to six games with the Red Sox in 2019. He did not return during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and retired afterward. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Red Sox, Pedroia batted .299 with 1805 hits that included 394 doubles, 15 triples, and 140 home runs. He scored 922 runs and compiled 725 RBIs, 138 stolen bases, and a .365 OBP. He appeared in 51 postseason games and hit .233 with 5 home runs and 25 RBIs. A four-time All-Star, he finished in the top 10 in league MVP voting three times, winning the award once. Pedroia also received four Gold Gloves for his play at second base and one Silver Slugger. A solid player whose major league career got off to an outstanding beginning, injuries ultimately derailed him.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.