Careers cut short: Dustin Pedroia

Dustin Pedroia was one of the premier second basemen of the late 2000s to mid-2010s, who contained the full package as a ballplayer at the plate and in the field, but a continuing left knee injury ended his career early. Photo by AP/File Elise Amendola.

Jack Butler

In the 2004 MLB June Amateur Draft, the Boston Red Sox had 49 picks, including the 65th overall pick, which they used to select 20-year-old Dustin Pedroia out of Arizona State University. He spent the first season of his minor league career between Single-A and High-A with the Augusta GreenJackets and Sarasota Red Sox where he collected 56 hits, three home runs, 19 RBIs, and hit .375 in 42 games. A couple of months following his first minor league campaign, the Red Sox came back down three games to none to defeat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series and swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the 100th World Series to end the Curse of the Bambino.

Pedroia split 2005 playing in Double-A and Triple-A with the Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox, putting up 135 hits, 13 home runs, 64 RBIs, and hit .293. He spent 111 more games in the minors at Triple-A – 135 hits, five home runs, 50 RBIs, and a .305 average – before being called up to the big-league club on Aug. 22, 2006. Pedroia went 1 for 3 in his debut in the Red Sox' 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He would go 16 for 86 the rest of the way for a total of two home runs and seven RBIs with a .191 batting mark below the Mendoza Line but in 2007 blossomed for Boston.

In 139 games, Pedroia had 165 hits, eight home runs, and 50 RBIs along with hitting .317, helping the Red Sox go 96-66 for the best record in the AL tied with the Cleveland Indians. He struggled in his first action in October as he went 2 for 13 at the plate with a lone RBI, however, David Ortiz, Mike Lowe, and Manny Ramirez picked up the slack offensively to get past the Angels in three games. Pedroia went off in ALCS versus Cleveland with 10 hits, three doubles, one home run, and five RBIs, and batted .345 that Boston won in seven games.

In the 103rd World Series, the Red Sox swept the NL champion Colorado Rockies, giving Boston its second title in four years. Pedroia batted .278 with one home run and four RBIs in the Fall Classic and six days later was named the AL Rookie of the Year.

Boston aimed to repeat in 2008, and Pedroia had the best statistical season of his career with 118 runs, 213 hits, 54 doubles, 17 home runs, 83 RBIs, and batted .326, which led his club to a 95-67 mark and a date with the Angels in the ALDS. The Red Sox took care of Los Angeles in four games and met the NL East Champion Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS. Tampa defeated Boston four games to three to reach its first World Series which they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

A month after falling in the ALCS to the Rays, Pedroia was awarded a Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, and 2008 AL MVP. In 2009, he had another stellar season in Boston where he had 115 runs, 185 hits, 48 doubles, 15 home runs, and drove in 72 with a .296 batting average. The Red Sox won the AL East, earning a third consecutive ALDS matchup between the Angels. This time the Angels defeated the Red Sox in the ALDS via a sweep where they ended up losing in the ALCS to the New York Yankees – the 2009 World Series champions.

2010 began the first injury problems for Pedroia as the day after his historic 5 for 5 day with 5 RBIs and three home runs versus the Rockies on June 24, he fouled a ball off his foot in an at-bat against the San Francisco Giants. An MRI confirmed that he broke a bone in his foot, and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Pedroia returned to the Red Sox lineup on Aug. 17 versus the Angles, only to go back on the DL after playing two games and finished the season playing 75 games with a .288 batting average, 87 hits, 24 doubles, 12 home runs, and 41 RBIs.

He rebounded in 2011 to have his highest power and production numbers with 21 home runs and 91 RBIs along with hitting .307 and a 7.6 WAR by Fangraphs to earn a 9th place finish in MVP voting. In the field, Pedroia made seven errors with a .990 fielding percentage to take home his second Gold Glove and had 18 Defensive Runs Saved, earning his first Fielding Bible Award. 2012 was a down year for him – 163 hits, 15 home runs, 65 RBIs, and hit .290 – and the Red Sox went 69-93 for last in the AL East.

Pedroia had an improved season in 2013 with 193 hits, nine home runs, 84 RBIs, and hit .301, helping Boston to a 97-65 record and a World Series championship over the Cardinals in six games. He won his third Gold Glove, was named Defensive Player of the Year and earned his second Fielding Bible Award along with finishing seventh in the MVP vote.

From his age 30-31 seasons, Pedroia collected 264 hits, 19 home runs, 95 RBIs, and batted .283, earning his final All-Star selection, third Fielding Bible Award, and fourth Gold Glove in 2014. He missed some time in 2015 due to a right hamstring strain which limited him to playing in just 93 games.

2016 saw a resurgence from Pedroia who batted .318 with 105 runs, 201 hits, 15 home runs, and 74 RBI as Boston went 93-69 to win the AL East but were swept by the Indians in the ALDS. On Oct. 13, he underwent a left knee operation, a partial meniscectomy and chondroplasty, and a month later, was awarded his final Fielding Bible Award.

His injury issues got worse in 2017 with three separate trips to the disabled list – 10-day DL due to left wrist sprain on May 20, again placed on 10-day DL on Aug. 1 due to left knee soreness, and on Aug. 12, was put on 10-day DL for soreness in the same knee. Pedroia received knee surgery on Oct. 25 and started the 2018 season on the disabled list. Following a rehab assignment with the Pawtucket, he was activated on May 26, but after three games (going 1-for-11), he ended up back on the DL with left knee inflammation. Pedroia was moved to the 60-day DL close to three months later, and on Sept. 7, Boston announced that he would not be part of any more action for the remainder of 2018.

Following a rehab stint in Class A Greenville, South Carolina, he was brought up for Boston’s home opener on April 9 from the injured list, where he appeared in a half dozen games, batting 2-for-20, only to go back on the IL with a left knee irritation on April 18. Pedroia aggravated his knee multiple times, which restarted his rehab process, and on Aug. 6, he underwent a left knee joint preservation surgery. Unfortunately, in late Jan. 2020, Pedroia had a major setback with his knee and missed the entire shortened 2020 season. Over a year later, he announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after a successful 14-year career.

In his last three seasons, Pedroia played in 114 out of a possible 486 games for the Red Sox to bat .279 with seven home runs, and 63 RBIs. Overall, he batted .299 with 1,805 hits, 394 doubles, 140 home runs, and 740 RBIs along with 624 walks to 654 strikeouts. He only made 57 errors in 6,635 total chances at second base for a .991 fielding percentage and 101 defensive runs saved. These two aspects make him one of the best second basemen to ever play the game, but we’ll never know the numbers he puts up without those left knee injuries.

Source

Dustin Pedroia Stats. Baseball Reference. 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022, from https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pedrodu01.shtml