Will Dustin Pedroia Become The $100 Million Man?
June 23, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (15) in the field against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
According to Yahoo! Sports the former rookie of the year, former AL MVP, and current 2nd baseman for the Boston Red Sox is in talks to receive a contract extension. This contract is reportedly in the range of $100 million which would average approximately $20 million a year over the next 5 or 6 years. He still has 1 year left at $10 million left on his current contract but need for an extension is closing fast.
His rookie year started off with controversy when he was named to the starting 2nd baseman as his batting average suffered and was hitting as low as .172 in the beginning of the 2007 season. He quickly became the hitter we know today as he raised his average to .317 by the end of the year and earned his first award as a major leaguer, Rookie of the Year for 2007. With his help the Red Sox advanced to the World Series and win the teams second title in 3 years. In game 1 of that series he became the 1st rookie to start off a World Series with a homerun and ended the series with a .278 average, that 1 homerun and 4 RBIs.
The 2008 season saw Pedroia emerge as a full time legit hitter and eliminated any question of a sophomore slump. When the season was over we saw Dustin own several batting categories or come pretty close to it. He was second in batting average with a .326, tied for 1st with 213 hits, led the league with 54 doubles, and lead the AL with 118 runs scored. These offensive numbers coupled with his great defense, only 6 errors all season, earned him AL MVP honors, AL 2nd baseman Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards and was named to the American League All-Star team. He became only the 3rd player in MLB history to earn MVP and ROY awards in back to back years.
The next 4 seasons saw him earn 2 more All-Star selections, 1 more Gold Glove award, and was even in the MVP race in 2011 ranking 9th in that vote.
This season Pedroia is off to another amazing year as he is hitting a .316 batting average and holds a career high on base percentage of .396. It only made sense for Ben Cherington to initiate some talks to lock the 2nd baseman up for years to come. There is still 1 year left on the current contract worth $10 million and a club option for 2015 worth $11 million but The Laser Show has definitely earned that elite status contract. If the contract that Yahoo! Sports reported comes to fruition it would make Dustin Pedroia the highest paid 2nd baseman in MLB history.
Both sides did not give much, if any, insight into the ongoing discussions but it is only a matter of time before the well deserved contract is delivered and signed.
The only thing missing from the contract, in my eyes, is how long will it be before number 15 gets a jersey with a “C” on the left side of jersey. He deserves that too, just saying.