Pedroia is a mighty mite of an MVP
One of the first text messages Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia received after getting the official call Tuesday afternoon came from Boston Red Sox teammate David Ortiz.
“Congratulations, badass,” Big Papi wrote.
Short, balding and bad-ass. That’s the look of the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2008, and while that may not be pretty, it captures the essence of the first AL second baseman in 49 years to win the award.
“The last couple of days have been crazy,” Pedroia said from his home in Chandler, Ariz., where he chose to wait with his wife, Kelli, until the call came from Jack O’Connell, secretary-treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America, that he had finished well ahead of Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau and Red Sox teammate Kevin Youkilis in the MVP balloting.
“You know how it is,” Pedroia said. “I’d heard names of four or five guys, and I didn’t know what to think. This is just my second full season, so I’m extremely excited and happy to represent the Red Sox. Who would have ever thought this would happen?
“I put up some numbers, yeah, but I’m more about doing the stuff that helps this team win.”
Pedroia finished first on 16 of the 28 ballots cast by BBWAA members, two in each city. He was named second on six ballots, third on three, and fourth on one. He totaled 317 points on a system that awards 10 points for first, nine for second, eight for third, down to one for a 10th place vote.
Morneau had seven first-place votes. The other first-place votes were split among Youkilis (2), Twins catcher Joe Mauer (2), and Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez (1). Mauer finished fourth in the balloting, Rodriguez sixth.
Pedroia is the first second baseman since Nellie Fox of the go-go Chicago White Sox in 1959 to win the award, and just the third player to win the MVP award a year after being named Rookie of the Year. Ryan Howard of the Phillies and Cal Ripken Jr. of the Orioles are the others. Fred Lynn of the Red Sox (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners (2001) won both awards in the same year.
Pedroia was a worthy choice in a field that lost its front-runner when White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin, who was leading the AL in home runs at the time, missed the month of September after breaking his hand in a freak accident. Quentin, who finished second in home runs to Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera (37 to 36) and also was second in the league in slugging percentage (.571) and fourth in on-base percentage (.394), finished fifth in the voting.
Rounding out the top 10 after Rodriguez was Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Carlos Pena and Cleveland Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore.
Second basemen have gotten little respect on MVP ballots in the American League. No second baseman has finished in the top three in voting since Alfonso Soriano, then of the Yankees, in 2002, and Bret Boone of the Mariners the year before. Roberto Alomar, a 12-time All-Star and a certain Hall of Famer, finished as high as third place just once in his career.
But Pedroia made a strong case by becoming just the fifth second baseman since 1937 to have a season with 200 or more hits, 100 or more runs scored, 80 or more RBIs, and 40 or more doubles.
He started 155 games, had just one month all season in which he hit below .300, hit .307 with runners in scoring position, and had a .298 average with two strikes. He also stole 20 bases in 21 attempts, and and struck out just 52 times in 653 at-bats.
When the Red Sox didn’t have a cleanup hitter in August after Mike Lowell was hurt and Manny Ramirez was traded, Pedroia stepped in for four games and belted 12 hits in 18 at-bats.
“Pedroia said it’s long overdue,” Boston manager Terry Francona said of his new No. 4 hitter, “and Ortiz said he’s retiring.”
When Pedroia played in his first All-Star Game last July in Yankee Stadium, he noticed that Francona had dropped him from his customary No. 2 spot in the batting order to ninth. Batting second was the hometown favorite, Yankee captain Derek Jeter.
Pedroia stuck his head in Francona’s office. “Hey,” he cracked, “I thought we were trying to win this game.”
That kind of brash confidence has been a critical component of Pedroia’s game, enabling him to win over detractors who questioned his size (he’s listed at 5-9 and 180 pounds) and his big swing. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen jokingly likened him to a jockey but said that he wished that the Sox had gotten rid of Pedroia instead of Mannny Ramirez.
“How do you not love him,” one scout said Tuesday. “He brings energy to the table, he plays with passion. Every manager in the American League will tell you they’d love to have him. He plays like a giant.”
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