Dustin Pedroia
Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball career for the Boston Red Sox, from 2006 to 2019. He was a four-time All-Star, and won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award in 2007 and the AL Most Valuable Player and Silver Slugger Award in 2008. He has also received four Gold Glove Awards and was named AL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
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Pedroia was selected by the Red Sox in the 2004 MLB draft and made his major league debut in 2006. He became a full-time player in 2007, winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award. He was a member of the Red Sox World Series championship teams in 2007 and 2013. Pedroia was the last player from the 2007 World Series team to leave the club.[1] A knee injury late in the 2017 season marked the end of his effective play.[2] After playing in only nine major league games over the 2018 and 2019 seasons, including missing the 2018 postseason,[2] he also missed all of the shortened 2020 season.[3] He announced his retirement on February 1, 2021.[3]
Pedroia was a proficient contact hitter with a very low strikeout rate and "a surprising amount of power," whose defense at second base has been rated significantly above-average.[4][5] Pedroia was the first Red Sox infielder to win four Gold Gloves.[6][7][8]
Early life[edit]
Born and raised in Woodland, California, northwest of Sacramento, Pedroia's parents operated a tire shop where they worked 14-hour days.[9][10] His mother, Debbie Pedroia, played tennis at Sacramento City College.[10][11] Pedroia's older brother, Brett, played baseball as a catcher at Shasta College.
Pedroia attended Woodland High School and played football and baseball. His football career ended as a freshman quarterback; a hit from future All-Pro NFL linebacker Lance Briggs shattered his ankle.[12][11] As a senior baseball player, Pedroia did not strike out all season,[13] compiled a .445 batting average and was chosen as his league's most valuable player.[12]
College career[edit]
Pedroia attended Arizona State University (ASU), where he played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team. He was teammates with Ian Kinsler and Andre Ethier. Kinsler and Pedroia competed for the shortstop position at ASU. Ultimately, Pedroia stayed at shortstop, while Kinsler ended up at second base before transferring to the University of Missouri. In three years at ASU, Pedroia never hit below .347 and had a career average of .384, starting all 185 games. To help ASU recruit better pitchers, Pedroia also relinquished the last two years of his athletic scholarship.[12] He was named ASU On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player; other winners have included Ike Davis, Willie Bloomquist, Paul Lo Duca, and Barry Bonds.[14]
Professional career[edit]
Draft and minor leagues[edit]
Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2004 MLB draft, with the 65th pick overall. Pedroia, the eighth shortstop drafted, received a $575,000 signing bonus.[12]
During three seasons in Minor League Baseball, Pedroia batted .308 while playing second base and shortstop. He spent 2004 with the Class A Augusta GreenJackets and Class A-Advanced Sarasota Red Sox, part of 2005 with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, and parts of 2005 and 2006 with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.[15]
Pedroia has garnered multiple nicknames during his time in Boston, including Pedey, the Laser Show,[103] and the Muddy Chicken.[104] His family is of Swiss Italian and Portuguese heritage.[105] The Red Sox officially lists Pedroia at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m), but he said he is 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) in 2016.[106] Pedroia has expressed an interest in Bigfoot, including tweeting about the show Finding Bigfoot from his Twitter account.[107][108] Pedroia enjoys playing the game cribbage; he and former manager Terry Francona used to play together.[109][110] Pedroia is a fan of the NBA's Sacramento Kings,[111] and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.[112]
On January 9, 2009, Pedroia was named as the cover athlete of the baseball video game MLB 09: The Show, and appeared in several commercials for the game.[113]
In August 2009, Pedroia's wife, Kelli, gave birth to the couple's first child, a son.[114]
In September 2012, Pedroia's wife Kelli had a second son.[115]
In June 2014, the couple had their third son.[116] They owned a home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, but sold it in 2020.[117] They reside in Chandler, Arizona.[118] Pedroia is the nephew of Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Phil Snow.[12]
In a 2009 interview given to Boston magazine, Pedroia criticized his home town of Woodland, California, calling it a "dump" and a city that never embraced him.[13] This generated backlash from his hometown and his family received death threats.[119] Pedroia later clarified his comments saying he was only joking and his comments were taken out of context.[120] The original article's author, however, insisted that his use of the comment was not misleading. His transcript of the interview quoted Pedroia as saying "It's a dump. You can quote me on that. I don't give a shit."[121]
Pedroia has authored an autobiography, and a children's book about Red Sox mascot Wally the Green Monster as a continuation of a series started by Jerry Remy: