Notable Numerals: Dustin Pedroia
There wasn’t a single Boston Red Sox player that was happier to see Spring Training roll around than Dustin Pedroia. After suffering from a foot injury that required surgery late in 2010, Pedroia was anxious to get back on the playing field and compete. He is the ultimate competitor, both with himself and his teammates, and wants to succeed at everything, including off-the-field activities like Ping-Pong and Cribbage. He has always played with a chip on his shoulder, because scouts and coaches told him he was too short, too slow, or didn’t have enough defensive range to be a star player as he came up through the minors. To this day, he is still out to prove every doubter wrong and his attitude shows that passion. Without further ado, here is this week’s Notable Numerals with The Laser Show, Dustin Pedroia.
Batting average against right-handed pitchers. The best part of Pedroia’s game may be his ability to defy odds and go against conventional wisdom. This stat perfectly represents that ability, as Peddy hits better against righty-pitchers, hitting at just a career .294 against lefties. Either way, Peddy has a great overall average of .305, and if it wasn’t for an abysmal .236 mark against lefties last season, perhaps would have an even higher number. Another interesting piece of his hitting ability is how he improves as the season wears on, with his average peaking at a ridiculous .328 for the month of July. We all know the reason for his impressive average as well: solid contact on everything and anything that is near the plate.
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Hits in 556 games. As mentioned above and known by fans of Red Sox Nation, Peddy just plain hits the cover off the ball. Most factors are irrelevant when it comes to explaining Peddy’s hitting ability, because no matter where the ball is, he has an unbelievable ability to solid contact, maybe the best I have seen in years. In the 4+ years he has been in the majors, I can count on 1 hand the number of times I have seen him pop-out and remember even fewer strikeouts. Peddy is a huge asset to the club in the batter’s box, and has proven his worth at the top of the lineup as a table-setter, especially in the 2-slot, where he will likely remain in 2011. Look for a healthy and stronger Peddy to light-up the hit column again this season, like he has throughout his career.
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K to BB career ratio. For many hitters, this could be considered a solid stat on the surface, but in order to understand its significance for Peddy, you have to look a little further into the actual numbers and not the ratio. The major-league average K to BB ratio is 2.04, so he is performing at a much better ratio than most, but his ability to hit everything and hit is hard makes this stat deceiving. Peddy creates very few opportunities for both strikeouts and walks, with his total for both stat categories in 2010 at 75 (37 K and 38 BB). His total is absurdly low for a major-league player, because of his constant contact, making him one of the most difficult people in baseball to strikeout. On the other side of that coin, walks are few and far between as well, but with his results, not a single person will complain about a lack of walks.
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Success-rate stealing bases for his career. This is by far my favorite stat for Peddy. This is the ultimate screw-you to the scouts that doubted his speed. It is also a true testament to his base-running skill and instinct. Most people believe that if you are fast, you can steal bases at will, but in fact, the ability to get a good jump and pick your spots can be even more important. Now I’m not saying that if Big Papi got a good jump he could steal most of the time, but someone with reasonable speed could be extremely successful swiping bags with the proper jump and timing. In 2008, Peddy stole 18 bases and was caught just 1 time and last season, he stole 9 bases and was caught just 1 time. Base-running skill is under-appreciated in baseball. It can be the difference between a win and a loss. Going 1st to 3rd on a single, for example, or stealing 2nd to get into scoring position with less than 2 outs, are ways to manufacture additional runs over the course of a long, 162-game season. In 4+ years in the majors, Peddy has 48 stolen bases and has been caught just 11 times.
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Major awards in 4+ years in the majors. This is a stat that single-handedly proves Peddy belongs in the bigs. For those that doubted his ability and future potential as he was progressing as a player, this is his way of sticking-up a giant middle-finger. In his 1st 2 seasons in the majors, Peddy won the Rookie of the Year award and the MVP award in succession. As if that wasn’t enough, Peddy has been invited to the All-Star game 3 times, won a Gold Glove, and to finish off his ridiculous haul, has won a Silver Slugger award. Oh yeah, and he’s only 27 and, barring injuries, has at least 8-10 more seasons left in him. Hell, knowing Peddy, he will probably be playing well-into his 40’s, still with a chip on his shoulder and a need for redemption. A gritty, gusty player that makes everyone around him better.
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