Dustin Pedroia News: Pro Sports Daily

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November 19

Boston Globe

"First two years in the bigs, Rookie of the Year and MVP. Where do you go from here if you're Dustin Pedroia and the Red Sox? The Sox don't think the hardware changes anything about their contractual approach to Pedroia. The new American League MVP will not be arbitration-eligible until after next season. That's when the big money could begin. And there's no reason to think Pedroia has hit his apex yet. The Phillies found themselves in the same situation with Ryan Howard, who started his career with a Rookie of the Year (2005), followed by an MVP (2006). Howard, of course, is a behemoth power hitter, 6 feet 4 inches and listed at 245 pounds, give or take 20. Pedroia is about half his size. ..."

Did size matter for Pedroia?

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November 19

Boston Globe

columnist Tony Massarotti

"What we will never know for certain is the impact of the Dustin Pedroia story, of the baseball equivalent of "The Little Engine That Could." What we do know is that Pedroia is a positively brilliant baseball player who was deserving of this year’s American League Most Valuable Player Award, an honor bestowed upon him today and one that is cause for celebration. Now comes the question that nobody in these parts really wants to touch: What was it, exactly, that made Pedroia such a landslide winner over his teammate, the equally deserving Kevin Youkilis? Could it be that Pedroia had the advantage of sentiment because his perseverance resonated with all of us? Here in Boston, we all know that ..."

Dustin Pedroia left off 1 ballot

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November 19

Boston Herald

"Dustin Pedroia was far from a unanimous selection in winning the American League MVP yesterday. In fact, he wasn’t even named on all 28 ballots. Evan Grant, who covers the Texas Rangers for the Dallas Morning News, was the only voter who left Pedroia off his ballot entirely. “In hindsight,” said Grant, “the way I stacked up my ballot was obviously the wrong way to do it.” Grant said he relied heavily on OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) and batting average with runners in scoring position. He found Pedroia behind his other listed candidates in those categories. Pedroia had an OPS of .864, placing him behind the eight position players on Grant’s ballot. Pedroia hit .307 with ..."

No doubt: Dustin Pedroia MVP

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November 19

Boston Herald

"For most of his baseball life, Dustin Pedroia has heard the doubts. He’s heard he’s too small, too slow or that his swing is too long, and that, one way or another, he just doesn’t measure up. But now, he might be too good for his own good. Yesterday, Pedroia became the first Red Sox player since Mo Vaughn to be named the American League’s Most Valuable Player, this after the second baseman already earned a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award. At the very least, will success make it more difficult to play with the trademark chip on his shoulder? After all, it’s hard to tell yourself that no one believes in you when you’re staring at a shelf full of trophies. So, will success ruin Dustin ..."

Dustin Pedroia wins AL MVP

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November 18

Boston Herald

"Dustin Pedroia, the Red Sox diminutive second baseman who struggled to hit his weight during his first month in the big leagues, was today voted the American League Most Valuable Player in balloting conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Pedroia edged out a number of players, including teammate Kevin Youkilis, for the award and became the first A.L. second baseman since Nellie Fox in 1959 to win the award. Pedroia is the 10th member of the Red Sox to win the award and the first since Mo Vaughn in 1995. Pedroia received 16 first-place votes and a total of 317 points. Twins first baseman Justin Morneau finished second with 257 points (seven first-place votes) and Youkilis ..."

Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis vie for MVP

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November 18

Boston Herald

"Frequently during the 2008 season, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis were separated by only a name or two in the Red Sox batting order. Pedroia would hit second - and occasionally fourth - while Youkilis manned the No. 6 spot, but after Manny Ramirez was dealt away, regularly hit cleanup. This afternoon, when the balloting is announced for the American League Most Valuable Player, their names will be inexorably linked again. Not since 1986 - when Roger Clemens won the AL MVP and Jim Rice finished third - have the Red Sox placed two teammates in the top three in voting. But it could happen again today. Pedroia, Youkilis, Twins catcher Joe Mauer, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, White Sox ..."

Pedroia has clout at 2B

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November 14

Boston Globe

"The American League MVP will be announced in five days, by which point Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia may have trouble finding room to display it. With potentially the biggest one yet to come, Pedroia added another award to his offseason haul yesterday, pairing the Silver Slugger as the league's top offensive second baseman to the Gold Glove he won last week for his defense. Pedroia may yet be named MVP, but for now, he can take comfort in being one of three American Leaguers - Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore and Twins catcher Joe Mauer are the others - to win a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger this season. He is the fourth Red Sox player to win both in the same year, joining ..."

Bickley: Pedroia making his presence felt

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November 14

Arizona Republic

columnist Dan Bickley

"Not long ago, Boston's most popular baseball player wore dreadlocks, a wobbly work ethic and a larger-than-life persona. Today, the fan favorite is bald and short, maybe 5 feet 9 in platform shoes. A Beantown newspaper calls him the wonder puppy, as if he's too small to fit into Underdog's clothes. And by this time next week, Dustin Pedroia should be named the American League's Most Valuable Player, something Manny Ramirez never accomplished with the Red Sox. That's staggering. "Every time I think about an MVP, I think of Barry Bonds," Pedroia said. "I grew up in Sacramento, a big Giants fan. I saw him win that award six or seven times. I think of a guy like that. So I don't really put ..."

Pedroia is as good as Gold

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November 7

Boston Globe

"Though 11 days remain until the announcement of the American League Most Valuable Player, Dustin Pedroia has already gotten some good news on the hardware front. The Red Sox second baseman was awarded his first Gold Glove yesterday for a season in which steady defense gave way to the spectacular at times. "I really didn't think much about it," Pedroia said on a conference call. "I was kind of still a little upset after the way the season ended, watching the World Series. I'm definitely excited. I've been getting text messages all day." With a .992 fielding percentage and just six errors in 733 chances, Pedroia outdistanced his closest competition, Oakland's Mark Ellis, to become the second ..."

Red Sox Dustin Pedroia worth weight in Gold

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November 7

Boston Herald

"Last year, Dustin Pedroia’s first full season in the majors, he was named American League Rookie of the Year and the Red Sox won the World Series. This year, Pedroia was named the AL’s best defensive second baseman. In less than two weeks, he may discover he was voted as the league’s Most Valuable Player. So why did Pedroia sound a little sad, almost ticked off, when the topic of all that attention came up yesterday? “Personal goals are not big into my mind - I definitely would rather have the feeling after ’07 than after ’08,” said Pedroia yesterday on a conference call after he was named to the AL Gold Glove team. “The biggest thing for me right now is focusing on ’09, getting my body ..."

Pedroia just couldn't find way in 8th

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October 20

Boston Globe

"To Dustin Pedroia, the difference between this year and last year was this much. That's about how close Pedroia estimates he was from putting a perfect swing on a Dan Wheeler fastball in the eighth inning of last night's deciding game of the American League Championship Series. With two runners on and the Red Sox staring at a two-run deficit, Pedroia lifted a 1-and-1 offering to left field for the inning's first out. The Sox were unable to push across any runs in the frame and ultimately fell to the Rays, 3-1. "I put a good swing on it," said Pedroia, his voice trailing off. "I just got under it . . ." Last year, he didn't miss it. In what he would later term "the biggest at-bat of my ..."

Dustin Pedroia does his part

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October 12

Boston Herald

"Prior to the start of the American League Championship Series, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia made repeated assurances there would be no repeat of the woeful batting numbers he accumulated in the Division Series against the Angels. Pedroia is making good on that promise, especially last night during the Sox’ 9-8, 11th-inning Game 2 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Pedroia was 3-for-5 with two home runs, two RBI, a walk and four runs scored. He led off the third and fifth innings with solo homers. It was just what Pedroia needed to regain his confidence at the plate. Pedroia roared into the postseason with MVP-type numbers. He led the majors in doubles (54) and finished tied for ..."

Pedroia snapped out of it at key time

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October 8

Boston Globe

"If there was anyone left who didn't believe Dustin Pedroia would somehow, some way break out of his postseason slump, that person clearly hasn't been paying enough attention to the Red Sox second baseman. On the heels of his 213-hit, MVP-caliber regular season, Pedroia started the postseason 0 for 15. But he had to break out of it. And in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, he did. In the fifth inning of Monday's game, with the first run in for the Sox, Pedroia stepped to the plate with Jason Varitek on second base. On the third pitch, he laced a ball off the Wall for a double, scoring Varitek. That came a day after Pedroia excoriated himself for not contributing offensively to ..."

Pedroia quick to take hit for his poor stats

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October 6

Boston Globe

"While virtually no one in the Red Sox clubhouse expressed frustration at not closing out the Angels last night in their American League Division Series, there was plenty of frustration on a personal level in front of one locker. Dustin Pedroia, as he did in the ALDS last season, had started extraordinarily slowly. His MVP-caliber regular season has devolved into hard-hit outs and little else in the playoffs. "It's a tough loss, obviously," Pedroia said. "It's my fault, man. I've got to get on [expletive] base. That's it. I've got to help our team win. I didn't do that, haven't done that all series. So I blame this one on me. Everyone else is battling, I am too, but no results." Pedroia ..."

Pony up! Dustin Pedroia nickname questioned

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October 3

Boston Herald

"TBS broadcaster Chip Caray called Dustin Pedroia “caballito,” or “the little pony” during Wednesday’s telecast and an entire nation of Red Sox fans went, “Huh?” But it turns out this wasn’t a case of Caray going Ron Burgundy on his audience. There’s actually something to it. According to Caray’s broadcast partner, Buck Martinez, slugger David Ortiz told him earlier this year that the team’s Latin players bestowed the nickname on Pedroia for reasons beyond his size. “David Ortiz told me that specifically,” Martinez said yesterday from his hotel in Anaheim. “He said we call him the little pony because he’s got spirit and heart and all of that. He thinks he can do everything. David told me he ..."

Most valuable half-pint

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September 28

Boston Globe

columnist Bob Hohler

"The boy was barely out of diapers when he discovered a tiny wooden bat and started swinging at everything that moved: tennis balls, ping-pong balls, balls of tinfoil. Then came a baby goose. By the time Debbie Pedroia rushed to the scene, it was too late. The family's new pet had bobbed its fuzzy head into her 18-month-old son's strike zone, and baby Dustin had swung the little bat as if his life depended on it. Goodbye, goose. Hello, half-pint avenger. For most of the years since that fateful encounter, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has kept swinging as if he were the prey, his baseball life a daily challenge to the legions of doubters who believed he never would be tall enough, ..."

MVP awards are no easy pickings

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September 28

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"When the big baseball awards are announced after the season, there are going to be some predictable winners. And then there are going to be the MVPs. It's not too hard to figure out that Chicago's Geovany Soto will probably win the National League Rookie of the Year award. Cliff Lee is the likely American League Cy Young Award winner. As for the most valuable players? It's anyone's guess. I can't remember a recent year in which going into the last weekend there were so many viable candidates and so few clear-cut choices. Take the AL. Josh Hamilton was the favorite at the midway point of the season, but his numbers tailed off after the All-Star break. That was about the time Chicago's ..."

Swing man

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September 12

Boston Globe

"Even before Tony Gwynn watched Dustin Pedroia swing for the first time, he had his doubts. Gwynn had just become the baseball coach at San Diego State before the 2003 season, and he prepared for a series against Arizona State. The scouting reports trumpeted Pedroia, a sophomore shortstop, as the Sun Devil most necessary to fear. Gwynn kept asking his assistants, "This guy is 5-8, and he's supposed to be the best guy on this team?" Gwynn studied Pedroia swinging before the game on the day the series started, and what he saw reinforced his comfort. Pedroia's left foot jutted toward third base when he strode at the pitch. He whipped his bat with such ferocity he nearly fell over. He finished ..."

Pedroia a hitter, winner and likely next A.L. MVP

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September 12

Sacramento Bee

columnist Paul Gutierrez

"He has been called scrappy by longtime observers, a jockey by an admiring opposing manager and American League Rookie of the Year by all of baseball. The diminutive Dustin Pedroia, though, might add another moniker and more hardware to his mantle this offseason. The pride of Woodland has not only captured the heart and imagination of Boston, but in his second full season in the Show, Pedroia has become a viable candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player award. Say it again, with feeling - Dustin Pedroia, the 25-year-old, 5-feet-9, 180-pound (soaking wet and with rocks in his pockets) second baseman for the Red Sox by way of the Delta League and Woodland High School, is an MVP ..."

Pedroia: Star has big backer

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September 1

Boston Globe

"Former Red Sox manager Joe Morgan once called Ozzie Guillen the "smartest player in the game." And now, some 20 years later, Guillen is gushing over Boston's little second baseman, Dustin Pedroia. Though Guillen's methods are a tad different than Walpole Joe's, both tend to speak their minds and tell it like it is. There is no gray area about anything they do or say. Guillen is not above uttering something shocking to make his point. When I recently asked White Sox general manager Ken Williams why he travels with his team so much, he said, "I have a manager who is a little eccentric." In good times, Guillen is fun to be around. The White Sox, who won the 2005 World Series under Guillen, ..."