PEDROIA, DUSTIN  
 
Image of    Nickname:   N/A Position:   2B
Home: Woodland, California Team:   RED SOX-D.L.
Height: 5' 8" Bats:   R
Weight: 180 Throws:   R
DOB: 8/17/1983 Agent: Alan Nero
Birth City: Woodland, California Draft: Red Sox #2 - 2004 - Out of Arizona State Univ.
Uniform #: N/A  
 
YR LEA TEAM SAL(K) G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO OBP SLG AVG
2004 SAL AUGUSTA   12 50 11 20 5 0 1 5 2   6 3     .400
2004 FSL SARASOTA   30 107 23 36 8 3 2 14 0   13 4     .336
2005 EL PORTLAND   66 256 39 83 19 2 8 40 7   34 26     .324
2005 IL PAWTUCKET   51 204 39 52 9 1 5 24 1   24 17     .255
2006 IL PAWTUCKET   111 423 55 129 30 3 5 50 1 4 48 27 .384 .426 .305
2006 AL RED SOX   31 89 5 17 4 0 2 7 0 1 7 7 .258 .303 .191
2007 AL RED SOX $380.00 139 520 86 165 39 1 8 50 7 1 47 42 .380 .442 .317
2008 AL RED SOX $457.00 157 653 118 213 54 2 17 83 20 1 50 52 .376 .493 .326
2009 AL RED SOX $1,750.00 154 626 115 185 48 1 15 72 20 8 74 45 .371 .447 .296
2010 IL PAWTUCKET   2 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .286 .167 .167
2010 AL RED SOX $3,750.00 75 302 53 87 24 1 12 41 9 1 37 38 .367 .493 .288
2010 IL PAWTUCKET   2 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .286 .167 .167
PERSONAL:

  • Pedroia is from Woodland, California, a quaint, small town about 20 miles northwest of Sacramento. It isn't really tiny, with a population of over 50,000. But downtown is the kind of place that could slide smoothly onto Route 66 somewhere in the nation's middle, the perfect setting for a staging of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town."

The main street is called Main Street and features a corner drugstore called Corner Drug. A tack shop stands as a reminder that this is still horse country, Costco or not. The State Theater advertises "Free Refill on Large Popcorn." The walls of the Spanish colonial-style Hotel Woodland seem as though they would belch if someone tried to affix a Marriott or Sheraton nameplate.
 
A few blocks away sits a ball field. "Clark Field," the sign says, "home of Babe Ruth League, Woodland High School, American Legion."

Dustin was born and raised in Woodland, as were his parents, Guy and Debbie, and brother Brett. The family's roots in Yolo County stretch more than a century. It is a small town where everybody may not know everybody but where one of Dustin's high school baseball coaches, Matt Bryson, is married to Dustin's cousin, Niki, and Guy Pedroia rents a house to the father of Tony Torcato, the former Giants farmhand from Woodland.
(Henry Schulman-SF Chronicle-11/23/08)
  • Dustin grew up a San Francisco Giants fan.

    In fact, he says the best Christamas gift he ever got as a youth: "My parents got me a little San Francisco Giants bat, because I was Giants fan when I was little. I was like 3 or 4, and I think I still have it at home. That's one that really stuck out. I remember I was so excited. My brother would wrap up a little foil ball and we would try to hit it around the house, and I was always breaking things around the house with my stupid bat. It's things like that that kind of bring your family together. Me and my brother were always close, always playing games with each other. That kind of made it special."

    		•
     
  • Pedroia has always hit wherever he has played—.448, .459, and .445 in his fianl three years in high school. Then, .347, .404 and .393 in his three standout years at Arizona State. And then, .357, .293 and .305 in his three seasons in the minors.

  • Pedroia dreamed of playing for Arizona State University since attending a camp run by Fernando Vina, another former Sun Devils shortstop with Sacramento roots.

    But upon his arrival in the fall of 2001, Pedroia was a mess. He made countless errors. He called home daily. He seriously considered going home to play for Sacramento City College. Former teammate Dennis Wyrick once called it "suicide watch," to which Pedroia said, "No joke." (BA-02/04)

    		•
  • In 2004, Pedroia became the fourth player in Arizona State history to earn three consecutive All-Pac 10 First Team awards. Pedroia finished second in Pac-10 2004 Player of the Year voting after winning the award in 2003.

    That year, he hit .393 (second in Pac-10) in 59 starts, smashing 24 doubles, one triple and nine homers while driving in 48 runs and stealing eight bases in 13 attempts. His on-base percentage was .502. He is a career .383 hitter for Arizona State, ranking seventh in school history. Obviously durable, Pedroia started all 185 games he played at ASU, so he is an iron man.

    		•
     

    • Dustin was one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, which was announced on June 13, 2004.

    • Dustin is an old-school player. He just flat-out knows how to play the game. And he loves playing it in a fiery manner, with a whole lot of energy. He is a very good baseball player, not just a scrappy one. He reminds people of  David Eckstein.
  • Pedroia shows up real early to the clubhouse, then is the last guy to leave. He is a throwback who managers love to have on their team.

  • He realizes he is at a disadvantage when being watched by scouts, being only 5-foot-8. But Dustin also says if you do things right, you can succeed. He truly visualizes himself as a Major League baseball player.

    He has a superb work ethic and excellent sense of the game. He is hard-nosed, competitive and a true leader on a team. He is a blood-and-guts player who thrives on pressure and makes everyone around him better. His passion for the game is taking him a long way. And he plays the game the right way.

    		•
     
  • Dustin signed with the Red Sox for a bonus of $575,000 in June 2004. Dan Madsen was the scout who signed him.

  • Before 2005 spring training, Baseball America rated Pedroia as #6 prospect in the Red Sox organization. And before 2006 spring camp opened, the magazine had moved Dustin up to 5th-best in the Boston farm system. And in the winter before 2007 spring training, B.A. had Pedroia back as 6th-best in the Red Sox farm minor league organization.

    		•
  • In 2005, Pedroia was named the Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year.

  • In January 2006, Dustin got engaged to Kelli, a Chicago native. Then, in November 2006, they were married.

  • In 2006, Pedroia hit .305 (fifth in the IL) with 30 doubles and nearly twice as many walks (48) as strikeouts (27).

  • Dustin showed up at 2007 spring training in excellent shape. He always has worked hard and trained well, but along with that he improved his diet, and it showed.

    		•
     
  • Pat Murphy, Pedroia's former baseball coach at Arizona State, had a rather amusing slant on Dustin's surge to success in 2007:

    "Let's break it down—he's 5-foot-6, he 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 anything to hit five or six 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," Murphy said.

    		•
  • Pedroia was named the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year, in a landslide vote, easily topping Tampa Bay OF Delmon Young.

    Dustin had a horrible start to his rookie year, and the Fenway faithful were giving him hell for it. He couldn't make the short walk from Fenway Park to his apartment without some loudmouth busting him, and came home one night to find his wife, Kelli, crying on the phone to her mother, because of the things they were saying about her new husband on TV.

    		•
     
    "I thought to myself, 'This has got to change,' " Pedroia said. " 'I've got to do something.' "

    Then he went to a baseball card show in Medford, Mass. he thinks, but he's not certain. It was a cab ride, and sure enough, the cabbie had his radio tuned to the sports talk station, and everybody, it seemed, hosts and callers, were making sport of Pedroia.

    "Those guys were crushing me," he said. "I'm thinking, 'This is tough.'

    		 "I get to the signing, and this guy comes up to me with a baseball and says, 'Hey, I want you to sign "Dustin Pedroia ROY '07." ' "

    The acronym is shorthand for "Rookie of the Year." Pedroia was hitting about a buck eighty at the time.

    "I said, 'Dude, what are you, drunk? Get out of here, man,' " Pedroia said. "The guy says, 'No, I'm serious.'

    "I said, 'Hey, buddy, if I sign this and win Rookie of the Year, I want that ball.' He goes, 'No problem.' "
     
    Fast-forward to August, and another card show.

    "The same guy shows up," Pedroia said. "He didn't want anything signed. He just showed me the ball. A really good guy. He had his little son with him, he had my jersey on, I'm thinking, 'This is pretty cool, this is what it's all about.'

    "Kelli was with me. I go, 'Honey, there's the guy. This guy's great.' I was going nuts. In April, when everybody was crushing me, there were people who still believed in me, and that's what made it special," Pedroia said. "He just said he loved the way I played, the way I take everything personal. He said he wasn't the most talented guy when he played - I got the whole high school story - but he said he really appreciates the way I play." (Gordon Edes-2/10/08)

  • Dustin is not always recognized for being a Major Leaguer. In fact, during the 2007 World Series, when the Red Sox were in Denver,

    the day before Game 3 of the World Series, and Pedroia is walking into the players' entrance at Coors Field for that day's workout.

    "I didn't see the security guy," Pedroia said. "It was like he was hiding behind a bush. He started yelling, 'Hey, hey, hey.'

    "I said, 'What?'

    "He said, 'Get out of here.'

    "I said, 'Dude, I play for the Red Sox.' He said, 'Let me see your ID.' I whip out my card. He goes, 'Anybody can make these.'

    		•
     
    "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."

    Pedroia concedes that yes, he did indeed refer to the home run he hit off Jeff Francis to lead off Game 1 of the World Series. "But I can't say that," he said. "You think I want people throwing at my head?" (Gordon Edes-Boston Globe-2/10/08)

  • During the offseason before 2008 spring training, Dustin and his wife Kelli, joined Arizona State baseball coach Tim Murphy and Willie Bloomquist of the Mariners, who was Pedroia's teammate at ASU, and went to Hawaii for five days. They went tuna and marlin fishing and had a blast.

  • Pedroia dances way to infamy: The Red Sox official web site says that Dustin Pedroia did something unusual at one of  Mike Lowell's charity events. During part of the dance competition, Pedroia was shirtless.

    •  
    "Pedroia is a moron, and you can write that," quipped Francona. "He was dancing, he looked like a puppet on a string. It's funny, because he's such a little gamer. But he's looking over knowing that we're just crushing him. He's drinking Red Bull, he's exhausted, he's trying to do these things with this girl that he's not strong enough to do. It was hilarious."

  • You've no doubt heard the expression "Manny being Manny." Well, this is Pedie being Pedie. He's a little loudmouth punk. And in a clubhouse full of superstars, he's also the guy who energizes the defending champs—with a never-ending stream of smack.

    From a distance, you might take the second baseman seriously, think he's bragging on himself and tearing others down. That would be a mistake. "C'mon, I'm like 5'2" 115," Pedroia says. "And this game's tough. I try to bring a loose attitude and make sure everyone's having fun. Hang around our team long enough, and you'll see that most of the jokes are on me."

    Generously listed at 5'9", 180 pounds (he's closer to 5'8", 170), Pedroia looks a little impish wearing his cap pulled low and sporting a scruffy, on-again, off-again beard that never seems like more than an idea. Sitting on the dugout bench, he strikes a more subdued tone for the moment. "I know everyone at the major league level is really good," he says. "And I have respect for them. I just don't want it in my head, or anyone else's, that we can't get a hit off a guy, so I'm not one to be praising a pitcher. I'd rather everyone believe we'll hit the guy."

    		•  It's a philosophy he developed at Arizona State. During Pedroia's sophomore year, coach Pat Murphy asked him about a pitcher's slider, and the kid responded, "It's so nasty!" Pedroia was already one of the Sun Devils' best hitters, so Murphy told him, "Never let your teammates hear you say anything like that." From that point on, the better a pitcher threw the ball, the more Pedroia said he sucked. Once, after ripping a leadoff single off Wichita State's Mike Pelfrey (now with the Mets), Pedroia shouted at the pitcher as he rounded first, "Ninety-eight coming in, 102 going out!"

    Adds hitting coach Dave Magadan: "His confidence radiates through our clubhouse. He never really gets down on himself, and he makes everyone feel so at ease. That's rare for a young player."

    The insults about the other team's ace? That's just his way of saying, Let's not be afraid of this guy. The proclamations that he's going to hit four ropes? Translation: If I can do it, then it should be easy for studs like you. (Murphy says Pedroia once wore a sleeveless shirt in college to show off his lack of biceps.) Challenging teammates to make-believe fistfights? Let's roll, boys. Whatever it takes. (Jeff Bradley-ESPN the Magazine-8/11/08)
     

  • In November 2008, Dustin's wife set the two of them up for a vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

  • Pedroia was named the 2008 American League MVP. He became the first AL second baseman to win the award since Nellie Fox in 1959.

  • Dustin says former teammate Alex Cora was a huge influence on his baseball career.

    "Cora was a huge role model to me and taught me how to play the game at a big league level," Alex said.

  • August 18, 2009: Dustin's wife, Kelli, gave birth to their first child, a son, Dylan. And Dustin was with Kelli for the birth -- but just barely, arriving 20 minutes before he popped out.

    He had trouble getting to the hospital. After being put on a 40-person plane to Boston - where he found Sox fans surprised at his presence and eager to talk baseball - Pedroia jumped in a cab to get to the hospital.

    		•

    “The cab driver wanted to talk about baseball and I’m like, ‘Dude, I will give you $100 to get me to Mass. General as fast as possible,’ ’’ Pedroia said. “So we probably were driving a little bit past the speed limit, but I think everyone understands.’

    And within 48 hours, Pedey was running around to teammates boasting that his son was a "badass."

  • During the winter before 2010 spring training, Pedroia said he and his family vacationed in the British Virgin Islands with Dodger outfielder Andre Ethier, a close friend, and his family, renting a villa for about 10 days. Finally, a place far from Sox fans?

    ‘‘I walked into a little grocery store, and the clerk was wearing a Red Sox shirt," Pedroia said. “He freaked out. Unbelievable."

    		•
     

  • Dustin had a rough 2009: His older brother went to prison for a sex crime, and almost without fail, the papers identified the perpetrator as "Dustin Pedroia's brother."

    His father, Guy, received death threats at the family's tire store after an interview his son gave in which he was quoted as saying his hometown was "a dump."

    His wife, Kelli, was in and out of the hospital because of complications with her first pregnancy, relief not coming to the anxious couple until their son, Dylan, was born healthy in August 2009.

    Brett Pedroia had played baseball, too, a catcher who made it as far as Shasta Junior College despite shattering an ankle in high school. He helped run Valley Tire with Guy and Debbie Pedroia until last year, when he was arrested in January and convicted six months later of committing a sexual act with a child several years before.

    		• There had been troubling signs earlier. In 2005, Guy had had his son arrested for allegedly making threats to his parents.

    Brett Pedroia's defense attorney, Steven Sabbadini, contended that Brett Pedroia had a severe addiction to methamphetamines. Brett said he'd begun using while still at college, leading to a downward spiral that left him homeless at one point. He said he used drugs with the victim's mother and was strung out on meth when he committed the act for which he was convicted.

    Brett Pedroia was sentenced to a year in jail and eight years' probation. Dustin Pedroia was left to deal with the fallout. (Gordon Edes-ESPNBoston.com-3/08/10)

    TRANSACTION REPORT

  • December 3, 2008: Dustin signed a six-year, $40.5 million contract with the Red Sox. Included in the deal is a seventh-year club option worth $11 million. Interestingly, that option would be waived if Pedroia is traded at any time during the contract.

    By signing the contract, Pedroia gave up two potential years of free agency, which would have started in 2013.

    •  
    The deal also included a $1.5 million signing bonus. Pedroia will earn $1.5 million in 2009, followed by $3.5 million in '10, $5.5 million in '11, $8 million in '12, $10 million in '13 and $10 million in '14.
     
     
    BATTING:

    • Pedroia's swing is not text-book. He has an unconventional approach. He has an open stance and cheats sometimes on fastball in. But he manages to keep the bat head in the strike zone a long time, making hard contact.

      He is a pesky hitter with a big swing. But he is a tough out, mostly because of superior hand-eye coordination. He makes excellent contact, slapping the ball through and over the infield. And he hits some home runs -- even 400-foot shots. But with his bat handling ability, he is a solid #2 hitter in a lineup.

    • A few have said Pedroia's swing is too long. But it isn't.

      "You look at my swing closely and you'll see, while it may be violent, it's very short to the ball," Dustin explained.

      As Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan said, "(Pedroia) has a way of manipulating the bat and getting it to the baseball quickly. He hits as many balls on the sweet spot as any hitter in the league."
  • Dustin has good strike zone judgment -- exceptional hand-eye coordination. It is perhaps the best hand-eye coordination in the game! So he makes contact on most every pitch he swings at -- even when he swings from the heels.

    He is a tough out at the plate because of his solid approach at bat -- he is a very selective hitter. He takes every at-bat very seriously. He hits a lot of extra-base hits for a guy who rarely strikes out. That is because he has an innate ability to center the bat head on the ball, even when he swings from his heels!

    For his three minor league seasons (as of the start of the 2007 season), Pedroia had 125 walks versus 77 strikeouts. He almost always puts the ball in play, making even his outs valuable.

    		•
     
    During the 2007 season, Pedroia took the first pitch 84.8 percent of the time.

  • He provides above-average offense for a middle infielder. He has quick hands and good leverage in his stroke.

  • "He brings a lot of quality things to your team. He puts the ball in play and he's not afraid to hit from behind in the count. He can move a runner, he can drive in a runner, and he gives you positive energy playing both sides of the infield," Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said in 2006.

  • In 2009, Pedroia was the toughest player to strike out in the Major Leagues: once every 13.911 at-bats.

    VS. LEFTIES and RIGHTIES

  • In 2007, Pedroia hit .348 vs. lefthanders and .303 against righthanded pitchers. He  finished the season with a .3173 batting average, including 165 hits. That's the highest average for a qualifying rookie second baseman, nudging Pittsburgh's Jim Viox, who hit .3171 in 1913.

    		•
  • In 2008, Dustin tied with Mariners great Ichiro for the most hits in the American League.

  • In 2008, Pedroia hit .313 with 6 homers in 163 at-bats vs. lefthanded pitchers, and .331 with 11 home runs in 490 at-bats against righthanders.

  • In 2009, Dustin hit .277 with 2 home runs in 173 at-bats vs. lefthanders, and .302 with 13 home runs in 453 at-bats off righthanded pitching.

  • As of the start of the 2010 season, Pedroia had a career batting average of .307 with 42 home runs in 1,888 at-bats.
    		•
     
     
    FIELDING:

    • Pedroia does well with the glove at shortstop; and even better at second base. He has great hands and excellent instincts for all aspects of the game. He consistently makes the plays.

      However, his arm strength and range are just a bit below-average. But he handles everything he gets to because of excellent hands and knows exactly what to do with the ball when he gets it. Dustin doesn't have the range to be a regular there in the majors. His sure hands and strong arm play better at second base.

    • Dustin is sure-handed and anticipates plays extremely well. His fundamental skills at shortstop are very impressive.

    • In 2005 spring training, the Red Sox had Pedroia at second base, a place he'd been only about 10 times in his life -- all during his freshman year at Arizona State. This was in preparation to allow super-prospect Hanley Ramirez to play shortstop at Portland (EL), with Dustin the second baseman for the Sea Dogs.

      Pedroia wecomed the change, saying, "I'm grateful for how this organization took a chance on me taking me with their first pick," he said. "It makes it even more exciting going to the park every day when you're learning a new position. Hanley is an unbelievable player. I look forward to learning some things from him and hopefully he can learn something from me." (Chris Snow-3/22/05)
  • Dustin positions himself well. He reads the ball off the bat better than most middle infielders. His instincts and makeup are excellent. And he has good quickness.

  • Pedroia won his first Rawlings Gold Glove in 2008.
    		•
     
     
    RUNNING:

    • Dustin is a very good runner. His instincts on the bases are superb. And he steals bases even though he probably doesn't have quite average speed. He knows the pitcher's moves and is a very intelligent runner.
     
    CAREER INJURY REPORT:

    • 2002: While playing for Team USA he broke a bone around his eye during a tournament in Holland.

    • 2005: Pedroia had an injured wrist midway through the season that slowed down his bat for a few weeks.

    • 2006: Dustin suffered a subluxation -- a temporary, partial dislocation -- of his shoulder on his first swing in his first spring training game. The only treatment was rest and rehab, and as a result Pedroia missed the rest of spring training. He spent the first two weeks of the season getting in baseball shape in extended spring training and did not join the PawSox until mid April.

    • 2007: Pedroia played the final two months of the season with a cracked hamate bone in his left hand. Dustin says he didn't know when the injury occurred, only that an MRI and bone scan on Sept. 10 revealed the break. He had the hamate bone removed on November 6, 2007.

    		 The rookie second baseman played in 30 games after the injury was discovered -- 16 in the regular season and 14 in the playoffs -- while missing only a Sept. 23 road contest against the Rays. Pedroia went 34-for-124 during that stretch, nevertheless playing a critical role in the Red Sox's late October offensive resurgence.

    Press reports have compared Pedroia's performance through his injury with Curt Schilling's famed 2004 bloody-sock heroics. The most significant difference between the two, of course, is that virtually no one who wasn't affiliated with the Red Sox knew about Pedroia's injury while he was driving in 10 RBIs in 14 postseason games.

    "Some days, I would wake up, and it would be hard to grip a bat," Pedroia revealed to The Herald. "I changed my grip a little bit on the bat and went from there. It was just one of those things, you know, you have to take care of after the season, but you have to play through [it]. A lot of guys have done that."

    The hamate, a wedge-shaped bone found near the far side of the wrist of each hand, is particularly vulnerable to injuries among hitters.
     

  • March 13, 2009: Pedroia had to leave the World Baseball Classic with a strained muscle on his left side, but the injury wasn't considered serious.

  • June 26-August 17, 2010: Dustin was on the D.L. with a nondisplaced fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot. The navicular bone is a bone at the top of the midfoot. Friday night, Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot in the third inning, remained in the game for one pitch -- he drew a walk from Giants P Jonathan Sanchez, but was removed when he could only hobble down to first base.

    August 20, 2010: Pedroia was back on the D    .L. after playing only two games, due to soreness in his fractured left foot.

    September 3, 2010: Dustin had surgery on his left foot    . He had a screw inserted into his foot to promote healing. Pedroia suffered a fracture to his navicular bone when he fouled a ball off his foot on June 25 in San Francisco.

    		•
     
     
     
    Last Updated 9/8/2010. All contents © 2000 by Player Profiles. All rights reserved.