College (Sophomore and Junior Year)
On the field, Dustin’s sophomore and junior seasons were even more impressive than his first.
He hit .404 with a .472 OBP, and led the PAC-10 in hits (120) runs (83) and broke the PAC-10 record for doubles (34). Pedroia received a plethora of awards for his performance, including PAC-10 Co-Player of the year, Collegiate Baseball Defensive Player of the Year, and Collegiate Baseball First-Team All-American. Pedroia’s buddy Ben Thurmond finished his only season with the Sun Devils with an 8-0 record and 2.73 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 79 innings.
When evaluating amateur baseball players, scouts tend to use the 5-tool system of hit, field, arm, speed, and power. Pedroia checked all of those tools except power – up until his junior season.
Pedroia hit 9 home runs and drove in 49 runs. He continued to hit for a high average and drove balls all over the field, slashing .393/.502/.611 with 96 hits 78 runs 24 doubles and 9 stolen bases.
He received: First Team All PAC-10, Collegiate Baseball Defensive Player of the Year (again), Baseball America, ESPN, and NCBWA First Team All-American, and was picked as a finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes award – given to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Jered Weaver edged out Pedroia for the award.
Next: Red Sox players gather for early spring training workouts
After all of this Pedroia felt there wasn’t much more he could do in his college baseball career and decided to enter in the 2004 MLB Draft where he was selected 65th overall by the Red Sox.
And the rest, as they say, is history.