In this series, I look at players who played their entire Major League career with the Red Sox, as long as said Major League career lasted at least ten years.
It truly is a shame the way that Dustin Pedroia's career ended. He had a very real chance of becoming a one-team Hall of Famer, something Boston has not had since Jim Rice.
Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2004 Draft. He was the team's top pick as a result of losing their first-round pick to the Athletics as compensation for signing Keith Foulke as a free agent. His cards had a bit of a strange start. He appeared in the 2004 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set. Sort of. Cards with his name appeared, but the picture was actually of fellow draftee Cla Meredith.
Pedroia moved quickly through the Red Sox system and made his Major League debut just two years after he was drafted. Pedroia played in 31 games down the stretch in 2006, hitting .191/.258/.303 with two home runs and seven RBIs. Nevertheless, Boston management seemed comfortable starting the 2007 season with Pedroia at second base. He started extremely slowly and, after the first month of the season, fans were calling for him to be replaced. Manager Terry Francona kept with the kid though, which eventually paid off.
Pedroia got going as the season went on, and ended up having a terrific rookie season that won him the Rookie of the Year. His final numbers were .317/.380/.442 with eight home runs, 39 doubles, 86 runs scored, 50 RBIs and seven stolen bases. He played steady defense and was the team's primary leadoff hitter. He also hit two home runs in the postseason, including homering in his first World Series at-bat. It was an impressive rookie season for the second-baseman, and the best was yet to come.
2008 saw Pedroia be named the A.L. MVP in his second season. He is one of just two Red Sox players to win both the Rookie of the Year and MVP (Fred Lynn did it in the same season). Pedroia led the league in runs scored (118), hits (213) and doubles (54). He came in second in the batting race and hit .326/.376/.493 with 17 home runs, 83 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He was named to the All Star game for the first time and won both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. He also hit three more home runs in the postseason, all of them in the ALCS against the Rays.
Pedroia's numbers dipped a bit in 2009, but he still led the league in runs scored (115) and was named to his second All Star team. He hit .296/.371/.447 with 15 home runs, 48 doubles, 72 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Still, it felt like a disappointing season. Then, injuries struck for the first time in 2010, limiting Pedroia to just 75 games. He still made the All Star team and hit .288/.367/.493 with 12 home runs, 41 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
He bounced back in a big way in 2011 and had what was likely his greatest season. In 2011, Pedroia hit .307/.387/.474 with 195 hits, 102 runs scored, 37 doubles and a career-high 91 RBIs. He also had a 20/20 season, which was overshadowed by Jacoby Ellsbury's 30/30 season (a first for a Red Sox player). His 21 home runs and 26 stolen bases were also a career high. Pedroia won his second Gold Glove Award and finished ninth in the MVP vote, but was somehow not an All Star.
2012 was a bad year for the Red Sox, but Pedroia was still a consistent contributor, hitting .290/.347/.449 with 81 runs scored, 15 home runs, 65 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The team was pretty bad though, so his contributions went largely unnoticed.
The Red Sox shocked the baseball world when they went from worst to first in 2013. The team was built on good chemistry and solid role players. Pedroia was one of the few stars on the team and he had a good season. In a career-high 160 games played, Pedroia led the league in plate appearances (724) and hit .301/.372/.415 with 193 hits, 91 runs scored, 42 doubles, nine home runs, 84 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He was an All Star (his fourth) and won a Gold Glove (his third) and finished seventh in the MVP vote.
In 2014, injuries really began to take a toll on Pedroia. His slight frame and tendency to play the game like he was on fire started to wear on him a bit. He played in just 135 games in 2014 and his numbers suffered. It was the only full season he had less than 100 OPS+ on the season (it was 99, so it was not a horrible season). Pedroia hit just .278/.337/.376, his worst rate stats in a full season. He had 33 doubles and seven home runs while stealing just six bases. He still won his fourth Gold Glove though.
He missed even more time in 2015, playing in just 93 games, but his numbers improved markedly. That year, he hit .291/.356/.441 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs.
Pedroia had his last great, full season in 2016. He was completely healthy for the first time since 2013 and played in 154 games. He played well too. He hit .318/.376/.449 with 201 hits, his second time with more than 200 hits, 105 runs scored, 36 doubles, 15 home runs, 74 RBIs and seven stolen bases. He was no longer fast, but his defense was still strong. He did not win the Gold Glove though and was also not an All Star.
He was playing reasonably well in 2017, but played just 105 games due to nagging injuries to his wrist and knee. He hit .293/.369/.392 with seven home runs and 62 RBIs on the season and then had surgery on his knee in the offseason. He was to start the 2018 season a little late. Unfortunately, he was never able to fully get back to health. Pedroia ended up playing in just nine games over the next two years. He looked like he might be back in 2019 until he was spiked in the knee in a game against the Orioles (I still can't stand Manny Machado to this day). He played just one more game. He tried to make it back until deciding to retire in 2021.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Dustin Pedroia's Hall of Fame candidacy. He was certainly one of the premier second-basemen in the American League during his career, even moreso after Robinson Cano's steroid suspension. Had he been able to continue to play for a few more years at a reasonable pace, he likely would have a strong case. As it is, his career spanned 14 seasons and he hit .299/.365/.439 with 1,805 hits, 394 doubles, 922 runs scored, 140 home runs, 725 RBIs and 138 stolen bases. He was an All Star four times, won four Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, the Rookie of the Year and MVP. As it is, Pedroia is the best second-baseman in Red Sox history. I still think he has a borderline shot at the Hall of Fame. It's just a shame his career ended the way it did.
I think he'll get in via the Veteran's committee someday, but it'll be a long wait.
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