Red Sox Run on Dustin
Forget the coffee and donuts, the Boston Red Sox clearly run on Dustin Pedroia.
Since his inception into the league in 2006, Dustin Pedroia has been the driver to the Boston Red Sox success. The straw that stirs the drink, the gas that fuels the engine, the sparkplug….however you want to say it, Pedroia has been the player who leads this ballclub.
Since taking over the second baseman’s job full time in his 2007 rookie season, the Woodland, CA native has led the Red Sox to an impressive record of 375 wins and 273 losses. They’ve made the playoffs three out of the four years including winning the division in 2007 en route to the team’s seventh World Series title.
The 2010 season was a down year for both Pedroia and the Red Sox when Pedey was sidelined for a significant amount of playing time, limited to just 75 games before an ankle injury took his season. Boston coincidentally missed the postseason for just the second time in seven seasons.
After coming off a frustrating season, Pedroia has rebounded and is once again providing winning ways. When number fifteen is hot, so too are the BoSox.
Currently, when Pedroia gets one hit in a game, the Red Sox are 71-39 or a .645 winning percentage. When Pedroia gets two or more hits in a game, the Red Sox record is 38-11 or a .775 winning percentage. In games where the second baseman goes hitless, his club struggles as they are just 14-24 (.368) while outscored 195-141. See a trend here?
Month by month also shows that Pedroia is key to the Red Sox winning ways. In April, the club went 11-15 and Pedroia batted just .255 with 2 homers and 8 RBI. In May, the club improved to 17-10, while Pedey stayed cool with an average of .227, 2 HR and 10 RBI.
But when the calendar flipped to June, things changed for Pedroia and the Red Sox took off. Pedroia batted .340 with 3 home runs and 17 RBI in 94 at bats. The club went 15-9 on the month and took over sole possession of first place in the AL East.
Then came July and Pedroia was entrenched in a twenty-five game hitting streak that stretched from June 29 to July 28. Pedey batted .411 for the month with 8 home runs and 22 RBI in 112 at bats. The club had an impressive 20-6 record, the best in baseball.
After putting up Ted Williams type numbers in July, Pedroia cooled off a little in August, but still had reputable stats. A batting average of .303 with 2 homers and 15 RBI in 109 at bats. The Red Sox went 17-12 during the month.
Thus far in September, the Red Sox are a mere 4-11 and Pedroia is hitting just .230 with 3 homers and 11 RBI through 61 at bats. It’s also the same month in which Pedroia went through a nasty dry spell, going 3 for 30 at the plate. The Red Sox went 2-5 during that spell, being outscored 47-30. The club has also seen their Wild Card lead trimmed from ten games to four and Pedroia’s slump has led to many losses.
You’ve heard it over and over again that he is the heart and soul of this ballclub. Night after night he provides highlight reel defensive plays, sacrificing his body to keep the ball in the infield while robbing the batter of a base hit. He has self titled his hitting prowess as “the laser show” and has recently been nicknamed “the muddy chicken” for his defensive dives that leaves his uniform covered in dirt while sprawling out like a chicken.
He’s the most obvious replacement as team captain when Jason Varitek decides to step away from the game. His teammates love him as he tends to keep things lose in the clubhouse and leads by example.
His name has been mentioned as a candidate for AL MVP this year and considering he’s set career highs in both home runs and RBI, he should garner a few votes. Will he win it? Probably not, but he is worthy of being included in the conversation.
Pedroia has built up an impressive resume in a short career, which includes the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year, a World Series Championship in ’07, a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award and named the AL MVP in 2008 and has been an All-star three times (2008 – 2010).
But to Pedroia it’s not about the personal achievements, it’s all about winning as a team and getting to the postseason. It’s pretty evident that as Pedroia goes, so go the Red Sox. His success in the final dozen games of the season will determine if the Red Sox get into the postseason.
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