Boston Red Sox Jersey Number 15 : Dustin Pedroia
In only two seasons in he Major Leagues, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has won four major awards and earned a World Series ring. The achievements of the diminutive California native have not gone unrewarded. According to news reports, he has signed a $40.5MM contract with the Red Sox that can keep him in a Boston Red Sox jersey until 2015.
The Red Sox picked Pedroia during the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent a couple of years in the Red Sox minor league system before he made his debut in a Boston Red Sox jersey in August of 2006. He got off to a good start, getting a hit in his first MLB game and hitting his first home run within the month.
Because he had fewer than 130 at-bats and fewer than 45 days before September 1 in the Major League in 2006, Pedroia was still considered a rookie in 2007. And he had a great rookie year. His fielding percentage for the year was .990. Although he slumped at the plate early in the season, a 13-game hitting streak and a five-hit game helped him pull through before the end of May. He won both the American League Player of the Week Award for the week ending June 3, 2007, and the American League Rookie of the Month Award for May. He finished his first regular season with a batting average of .317, ninth in the American League. “Pedroia the Destroyah” won the American League Rookie of the Year for 2007.
The Red Sox entered the post-season with a strong team. After defeating the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series and the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, the guys in the Boston Red Sox jerseys met the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. Pedroia became only the second player, and the first rookie, to lead off the World Series with a home run. In Game 3, Pedroia and his teammate and fellow rookie Jacoby Ellsbury were the first rookies to bat in the first and second positions in a World Series. The Sox beat the Rockies in four games.
Pedroia’s contribution to the Red Sox in 2008 was very broad. He was at or near the top of the list for a number of batting statistics for the regular season. At .326, he had the second best batting average in the AL. He led the League in hits, doubles and runs scored. His stolen base percentage was .952, safely stealing 20 bases in 21 attempts. His fielding percentage was .992, second among second basemen only to the .993 posted by Mark Ellis of the Oakland Athletics, who had nearly 200 fewer fielding opportunities.
Pedroia joined six other guys in a Boston Red Sox jersey on the 2008 All-Star Team. Then, in the post-season, they went on together to defeat the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series but lose to the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series, losing their chances for another World Series.But if the Red Sox didn’t make it to the World Series in 2008, Dustin Pedroia’s outstanding statistics garnered him some notable individual awards. He was named the American League Most Valuable Player for 2008. No second baseman had won the MVP Award since Nellie Fox of the Chicago White Sox in 1959. And in the history of baseball, only Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard had previously won the Rookie of the Year Award and the MVP Award in consecutive season.
Boston Red Sox Jersey Number 15 : Dustin Pedroia