Boston’s Little Ball Of Great
If the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand is the “Little Ball of Hate” then the Red Sox’s Dustin Pedroia should be known as the “Little Ball of Great!” “Pedey” aka “Laser Show” Follow @15LaserShow
has put up incredible numbers in the first half, while playing Gold-Glove caliber defense.
Coming out of the All-Star break, he is 5th in the A.L. in hitting at .316 while driving in 56 and scoring 57. All while playing through a wrist injury for the first 6-8 weeks of the season. In Boston, his play is not a surprise nor is his grit and his leadership that he brings to the ballpark every single day. We have been witnessing this dynamo perform in Boston at an elite level in every phase of the game, for 6 plus years.
But Pedroia is about so much more than just “numbers”, he is the heart and soul of the Red Sox for the way he plays the game. As an American Legion Baseball Coach, he is the guy that I point to when explaining to 15-19 year olds, how to approach and play the game of baseball the right way. How to play with passion every inning of every game. You see, Pedroia is a throwback to the ballplayers of previous generations, the “Charlie Hustle” of his era. And Pedroia plays with an edge. An edge forged out of consistently being labeled as too small and told he couldn’t do something because of his (lack of) size. He is the epitome of how grit, determination and persistency can and does overcome and win out.
Actual Size.
Pedroia plays much bigger than his purported 5’ 8”. He hits for surprising power and swings the bat as if he is trying to literally destroy the ball each time. He doesn’t get cheated at the plate often. When he came up rookie in 2007, some of the so-called experts admonished him for his “big” swing and said he wouldn’t last long (in the Majors) unless he changed his approach. Pedey indeed has an extremely aggressive swing, yet he showed tremendous bat control and once he got acclimated and got into his groove in the late Spring of 2007, all he did was hit, hit, hit his way to the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. I remember an interview he did early in May that season in reference to his dismal start when he was hitting a paltry .172 on May 1st. When asked about his struggles, Pedroia confidently expressed little worry and stated that he knew he could hit and had always hit at every level. True to his word, 6 weeks later, his batting average stood at .322 on June 18th. Incredible turnaround from an incredibly driven player!
No part of this doesn’t make me want to vomit.
To understand what Pedroia brings to the table, you need to understand his unmatched drive to improve and to win. He is baseball’s Larry Bird! Like Bird, when you tell Pedroia he can’t do something or you expose a weakness, he spends the entire off-season to improve that part of his game. (i.e. Larry Bird spending one particular off-season using only his left hand to dribble while perfecting driving to his left after feeling exposed the previous season). Pedroia was playfully mocked by his teammates during his rookie year for his apparent lack of speed. Most players would have shrugged it off, but not Pedey. He spent a significant amount of time that off-season at Athletes Performance Institute in Arizona, working for hours a day on his agility. The results? Aside from an injury shortened 2010 season, he has stolen 20 or more bases in each subsequent year since his rookie campaign! Combining his improved agility and his high baseball IQ, he again worked hard to overcome a perceived obstacle and added a new dimension to his arsenal and to his team.
His desire to win is displayed on the field every day that he puts on a uniform through his hustle and his performance. But it also is evident off of the field as well. One such case dates back to his college days. While at Arizona State University, Pedroia volunteered to forego the last 2 years of his Athletic Scholarship to help ASU recruit top pitching prospects through those scholarships. Now that is a truly unselfish desire to win!
In this day of entitlement and mega-million dollar contracts, Dustin Pedroia is a breath of fresh air. He has proven, through his actions and his words, that he is unique in his approach to the game and his will to win as well as his values compared to many of today’s athletes. Nothing illustrates that point better than what he had to say in an interview after signing his last contract prior to the 2009 season. Upon signing for six years at $6.75 million per season, he explained away critics who’d said he could have demanded much more by replying, “What can’t I do with $40 million that I can do with $100 million?” He went on to explain that he was just a regular human being and didn’t need a Bentley nor did he care about those kind of things and expressed satisfaction in knowing that his family and kids were set for life because of that contract. Perhaps the Red Sox got a bargain, but the Red Sox fans got an even bigger bargain when this guy stepped onto the field for good back in 2007! We’ve been reminded what it’s really like to play the game of baseball with pure passion, for love of the game; the way it was meant to be played! “Pedey” is a role model and a shining example of what hard work and perseverance can bring. Qualities that also define Boston itself. Pedroia is Boston! Pedroia is Boston’s Little Ball of Great!
Tweet
Comments
Get With The AFR Program!
