Red Sox: #VotePedey Movement Warranted Praise for Pedroia
By Adam Nazzaro
With your help, Dustin Pedroia has the chance to be added to the All-Star game.
Dustin Pedroia…where do I start? Major League Baseball released the rosters for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game Tuesday night for the American League and National League, the game will be played at Petco Park in San Diego,CA. There were six players chosen from the Boston Red Sox, including four starters including Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz, and Jackie Bradley Jr.. The other two will be coming out of the bullpen in knuckleballer RHP Steven Wright and flamethrower RHP Craig Kimbrel, but no All-Star Selection for Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia.
Although, Pedroia was selected Tuesday night as a finalist on the MLB AL Final Vote that will be decided by the fans, featuring players such as Houston OF George Springer, Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria, Toronto OF Michael Saunders, and Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler.
Every player selected from the Red Sox was well deserved as most are having career seasons. But I truly believe Major League Baseball left one Sox player off the list in Pedroia. Pedroia is having a fantastic season as one of the league’s top middle infielders, the “5-9 175 lb.” stud is batting .308, in the top 10 in a couple of categories including doubles (20), runs scored (52), hits (103).
What really sets Pedroia apart from any second basemen in the game is his glove. The 4-time gold glover maintains his ground in the right side of the infield with a .991 field percentage, which is in the top 3 for second baseman in the MLB. You see him time and time again make a play to his right you would have never expected the 32-year old to make. Just when you count out this 9-year veteran for the 100th time, he still makes your head spin with a miraculous play up the middle, or a clutch hit in crunch time.
What makes Dustin Pedroia the player he has become today is his heart and leadership that no one can teach. Back in 2007 when Pedroia first joined the club, he started to really slump, batting under .200 and was perhaps being doubted by not just Sox Nation but the entire league. Hearing things such as “you can’t do this” or “your too small for this league.” Every year since then, he surprises everyone when no one expects the 2nd baseman to produce. The California born 4-time All-Star brings his hard-hat and his work boots every single day, always the first one in the clubhouse in the morning and the last one out after a game by nightfall.
This former AL MVP is simply a “gamer” who continues to take no for an answer, and looks to make the players around him better every chance he gets, more importantly with his “never say die attitude”. Red Sox Shortstop Xander Bogaerts added a month back that Pedroia is “the backbone of this team”. With such a young team, Ortiz and Pedroia are the veterans in the clubhouse, they are the ones to get on players when times are tough, just check out how he was talking to LHP Eduardo Rodriguez just last week…
I say Pedroia must be an All-Star because he doesn’t get enough credit that he deserves. Despite injuries, he hasn’t been voted into an all-star game since 2013 and has been looked as an after-thought waiting for the second basemen to lose his touch. The one thing I must say why he doesn’t receive as much recognition as he should is because the young studs are on the rise, including Houston 2B Jose Altuve, Cleveland 2B Jason Kipnis, and of course Seattle 2B Robinson Cano who are all having promising seasons.
Competition like that puts a small 30+ year old Pedroia in the backseat of the race and that is truly sad. Pedroia is one of the best role models this league has seen in a longtime, with his commitment, effort, and heart he brings to the game, should tell youngsters everywhere that someone at this very moment is out working you, and you need to do something about it. For anyone still counting out Pedroia, watch this New Balance Commercial and “Tell Me” why you are writing him off of your ballot…
When you decide to come to your senses, text A3 to 892-69; voting ends on Friday July 8th 4pm. Don’t be late. #VotePedey
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