Dustin Pedroia

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Dustin Pedroia
Born: August 17, 1983
Birthplace: Woodland, California
Hometown: Chandler, Arizona
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 180 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 2004: 2nd Round, 65th Pick by the Boston Red Sox
College: Arizona State
High School: Woodland High School (CA)
Other Teams: None
Years with Boston: 2006 - Present


Dustin Pedroia (born August 17, 1983 in Woodland, CA) is the starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox. He was drafted in the 2nd round in 2004 out of Arizona State and was the top Red Sox draft pick that year. Standing only 5'9", some scouts believe that Pedroia has limited offensive potential. While he has done his best to dispel that notion, it is still unclear whether his long-term future is at second base or at shortstop. While he has great hands, his arm strength and range may not be enough for him to stick at SS.

Contents

Scouting Report

  • Small infielder had a tremendous career at Arizona State. Average power for a middle infielder, with good bat speed and excellent plate discipline. Loves the game and has fantastic instincts. Plays top-notch defense up the middle, he was named the 2003 Collegiate Defensive Player of the Year. Very scrappy, said to be a great teammate. Oozes confidence. Has pro experience at both shortstop and second base; likely will stick at 2B through his big league career. Coming out of the minors, Pedroia projected at a minimum as a dependable second baseman at the major league level. However, he has proven to be an all-star caliber player early on in his career. ~ SoxProspects.com

Amateur Career

Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the 2nd round of the 2004 Draft. He was rated by Baseball America as the 53rd best prospect for the draft. An All-American at Arizona State, he was also named the 2003 Collegiate Baseball National Defensive player of the year for his performance at shortstop where he posted a .975 fielding percentage and committed no errors in his final 26 games.

Year Team Name G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
2002 Arizona State 58 236 51 82 13 2 1 45 5 24 19 0.347 0.417 0.432 0.849
2003 Arizona State 68 297 83 120 34 3 4 52 3 36 13 0.404 0.472 0.579 1.051
2004 Arizona State 59 244 78 96 24 1 9 49 9 48 15 0.393 0.502 0.611 1.113

Amateur Awards

  • 2003 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year
  • 2003 NCAA Defensive Player of the Year
  • 2003 First Team All-American (Louisville Slugger)
  • 2003 D1 First Team All-American (ABCA)
  • 2004 Golden Spikes Award Finalist
  • 2004 First-Team Baseball America and USA Today All-American

Minor League Career

Pedroia got off to a very hot start in Augusta, earning a promotion to High-A Sarasota after only 50 at-bats. He continued to mash in the Florida State League, posting a .940 OPS in 107 at-bats. In 2005, Pedroia was assigned to AA Portland and continued to crush the ball, outshining his double play partner Hanley Ramirez. Promoted midseason, his Pawtucket performance suffered after he was hit on the wrist by a pitch, an injury that also prompted the organization to trade for Tony Graffanino rather than call him up. While some hoped he would win the starting shortstop job in 2006 following the trade of Edgar Renteria, the acquistion of Alex Gonzalez sent Pedroia back to AAA, where he started slowly. In AAA, Pedroia played second base 1 out of every 3 games. In the other 2, he would play shortstop. This process has made him a much more versatile player. After his slow start, Pedroia came on strong and made his major league debut in August of 2006.

Minor League Awards

  • 2005 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year
  • 2005 Post-Season Eastern League All-Star
  • Red Sox ML Base Runner of the Month (April 2005)
  • Red Sox Minor League "Quality Plate Appearances" Award (June 2005)
  • Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Month (June 2006)
  • Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Month (July 2006)
  • 2006 International League All-Star

Major League Career

  • 2006: Pedroia was called up by the Red Sox in August of 2006. His first start came on August 23rd against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Pedroia ended the year with a line of .191/.258/.303 with 2 HR and 7 RBI.
  • 2007: He earned the starting job at second base in 2007. As of July 16, he has a .313 BA and an .839 OPS with 4 HR and 27 RBI. He also has flashed a good eye, with 32 BB to 22 K. He only has 2 GIDP in 89 games.

Major League Awards

Major League Achievements

  • 2008 American League Runs Leader (118)
  • 2008 American League Hits Leader (213)
  • 2008 American League Doubles Leader (54)

Moments in the Sun

  • Dustin made a key diving stop to get the first out of the 7th inning, grabbing a sharp grounder from Miguel Tejada and tossing him out with time to spare to help preserve Clay Buchholz's successful no-hitter attempt on Clay's second career start on September 1, 2007. He also went 2-for-5, and scored both times he reached base.
Bones doing his best Bellhorn impersonation.
  • With Jacoby Ellsbury on third, Bones hit a 2 run HR off Rafael Betancourt in the 7th inning, extending the Red Sox lead to 5-2. In probably the best game of his career to date, he singled and scored the first run of the game, hit a 2 run HR and hit a bases-loaded double in the eighth unloading the bases.
  • The HR was only the 5th in MLB history by a rookie in a Game 7.
  • In the 2007 World Series, he became the 2nd player to ever hit a leadoff HR in a World Series game 1, in his first at bat.

Trivia

  • Pedroia made his major league debut and collected his first major league hit on August 22, 2006 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
  • Pedroia collected his first major league home run on September 9, 2006 against Kansas City Royals' pitcher Luke Hudson.
  • The first Red Sox rookie to have a multi-hit game on Opening Day since Brady Anderson in 1988.
  • His Little League team came within one game of going to the LLWS boston.com
  • Gave his scholarship back to ASU after his Freshman year so they could sign Ben Thurmond. boston.com
  • Dustin was the cover athlete for MLB 09: The Show for Playstation consoles. (Which is the only baseball themed videogame that's harder than actually playing baseball.)

Quotes

  • “He'll make an out against a guy throwing 98, and when he comes to the dugout, we'll ask, "What's he got?" Pedroia will tell us, "He ain't got shit!" – Brandon Moss, April 2005
  • "“And I’ll be like, ‘Dude, seriously, he’s a bad little kid.’ Pedroia is always going to be like a 16- or 17-year-old because he’s little and he’s got a baby face, but he just rakes. Dude, he comes up with some lines, and you’ll be laughing. He hit a ball off the Green Monster once, and he came back to the dugout and said to me, ‘Hey, Big Punish, you know it’s going to rain, right?’ And I was like, ‘Why?’ He goes, ‘Didn’t you just see the lightning show?’” David Ortiz, Metro Boston
  • ""97 mph coming in and 197 mph going out", Dustin Pedroia, after ripping a leadoff single off Wichita State's Mike Pelfrey, hackswithhaggs
  • "He’s 5-foot-6, he’s can’t run, he’s not strong, his bat speed and his hands are tremendous because his arms are only about 11 inches long and so close to his body that he’s not getting to anything hit 5 or 6 inches to the right or left of him and he doesn’t have a lick of athletic ability…yet he’s a rookie of the year candidate." Also "Mike Gallego is a good friend of mine and I used to tell him that he reminded me of Gags. That used to piss Pedroia off. He would say ‘Mike [expletive] Gallego, are you [expletive] me?’ "ASU Coach Pat Murphy [hackswithhaggs
  • "Did you bring your glasses for the laser show tonight?" text message to Kevin Millar, ESPN the magazine
  • "The strongest 160-pound player in the league, right here!" Roberts swats at the air like he's trying to shoo away a gnat as Pedroia repeats, "Right here!" ESPN the magazine
  • "I go, 'Hey, dude, you got to calm down. I'm the guy leading off the World Series, hitting bombs. Chill out.' Everybody started laughing. I was so mad about it." Manager Terry Francona, who made Pedroia his regular cribbage partner all summer, tells a slightly different version of this story. He said that when Pedroia was asked to identify himself, he said, "Ask [expletive] Francis who I am. I'm the guy who hit a bomb off him." boston.com
  • "I never thought I would walk a jockey" 8/30/08, Ozzie Guillen, after issuing an IBB to Pedroia.
  • "Jerry Remy stunk" 9/3/08 masslive.com
  • "Sorry for breaking all your records at [Arizona State University]." Pedroia to Barry Bonds during a game at Fenway.

External Links

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