Dustin Pedroia was a fan favorite and a pain in opponents' sides during his 14 seasons with the Boston Red Sox organization.
The five-foot-seven infielder was Boston's last everyday second baseman, its most recent rookie of the year and second most recent MVP. His size and skillset forced him to be a particularly gutsy player, and other teams' fans — particularly Yankees fans — hated him for it. He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2024, and his name appeared for the first time on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot this winter.
His first time around, Pedroia didn't make the cut. He collected 11.9% of the vote (47 votes), and players need at least 75% to make the Hall of Fame. Pedroia could have many more years on the ballot to try to make it into the Hall, and his chances may improve next year as the 2026 class is quite underwhelming. Still, the odds may be stacked against him for once.
Pedroia was a standout on both sides of the ball. He could hit for average with a shocking dose of power for his frame and his defense at second base netted him four Gold Glove awards. There's no denying his excellence over his 14-year tenure in Boston, but his seasons may not have been long enough to catch the eye of enough Hall of Fame voters.
Pedroia posted more than 150 games in five of his 14 campaigns with the Red Sox. When the second baseman played a full season (or close to it), he was exceptional. Over 157 games in 2008, the righty slashed .326/.376/.493 with a .869 OPS, 7.0 bWAR, led MLB with 54 doubles, and earned an All-Star nomination, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and MVP awards. Pedroia earned MVP votes again in 2011 when he slashed .307/.387/.474 with an 8.0 bWAR over 159 games.
But injuries may have shortened too many of his seasons to be selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America into the Hall of Fame. The same could be said for another 14-year veteran and longtime Met, David Wright. Recency bias could be the nail in the two players' coffins — Pedroia played just 114 big league games across his final three professional seasons, and Wright appeared in just 77 in his final three years, 2015, '16 and '18.
Pedroia seems to know the odds aren't in his favor to reach the Hall anytime soon. He acknowledged that playing a few more middling seasons late in his career may have earned him more consideration from reporters, but any number of games played is not a reflection of effort. He described his feelings to Rob Bradford of the "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast on Dec. 23.
"I remember literally my entire life, everybody always said I was never gonna make it, I was too small, I wasn't fast enough, I wasn't strong enough and whatever, and now a reporter just told me he's voting for me for the Hall of Fame," Pedroia said. "So that, right there, that's good enough for me, man."
". . . I didn't take one play off. Whatever happens, happens, but I can firmly say for however many at-bats I had, I ran as hard as I could every time, I tried to get a damn hit every time, and when I was struggling, I worked even harder and when I was hot I worked even harder."
Pedroia may not make it into Cooperstown to be enshrined alongside baseball's all-time greats, but he relishes that he was given consideration, just as he valued every at-bat or routine play he took for the Red Sox organization. Whether or not he makes it into the Hall, Red Sox Nation understands the value of his contributions during the team's best years, and he will remain a Boston legend.