Dustin Pedroia: More Tools than a Carpenter

The two new stars, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez have captured most of the spotlight thus far.  Albeit, for their lack of production.  The one constant on this team is Dustin Pedroia.  Night in and night out, Pedroia does something spectacular.

I have said it before, when Jason Varitekretires or leaves the Sox, they should sew that Capital “C” on his jersey immediately.  He is the cog that drive this machine.  His grittiness and personality make him the face,voice and hair of the franchise.  Look how he took over the Yankee series.  He homered against Phil Hughesat the Sox home opener.  Something we are familiar with, as this was his third consecutive year he homered on Fenway’s opening day.

You can put him any where in the lineup and he will produce.  His power is freakish when you think about how diminutive he is.  It looks like he is going come right out of his shoes with every swing.  Carl Crawfordhas been described as a 5 tool player.  One who can do everything offensively and defensively.  Put Pedroia in that category also.  In fact if they could measure what a player means to a team, then Pedroia would be a 6 tool player.   He may not possess the speed of an Jacoby Ellsbury or Crawford, but his instincts are incredible and he can go first to third or second to home with the best of them.

What has been truly amazing this year is his defense, his diving acrobatic plays or throwing runners out trying to take the extra base.  Pedroia does everything the right way, fundamentally smart.

I believe that sports figures in general are not role models, but Pedroia is the closest to being one that I have seen in a very long time, if not ever.

When the Sox were 0-6 and coming home to face the Yankees, it was Pedroia who said to all the fans, ‘You’re either two feet in now or you’re two feet out. Let us know now, because here we come.’

Well Dustin, as long as your standing “Tall” at second base, I will always have both feet in.

For all the latest news and analysis from BoSox Injection, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or with our RSS feed