After only appearing in a combined nine games over the past two seasons, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia confirmed the inevitable today: he's retiring from MLB after a series of brutal knee injuries left him unable to continue playing the game that he gave so much to. While this news was hardly surprising if you've been paying attention at all to the Red Sox the last few seasons (and I certainly don't blame you if you haven't, they stink), it was sobering for me since Pedey is only a few months older than I am so in many ways his career arc is easy to trace. A second round draft pick (65th overall!) for Boston in 2004 out of Arizona State, the undersized second baseman quickly rose through the minor leagues and reached the Red Sox only two years later. From there, his career was legendary as he became an AL Rookie of the Year in 2007, an AL MVP in 2008, a four-time MLB All-Star (2008-10; 2013), a four-time Gold Glover (2008, 2011, 2013-14) and a two-time World Series champion (2007 and 2013).
For a West Coast guy that was born in California and went to college at a Pac-12 powerhouse, Pedroia could have been a native New Englander from the start. He was loud, he was cocky, he was obnoxious but despite all that, you still somehow loved him (assuming that you were a Red Sox fan) because as his resume shows you, he was one hell of a player. He wasn't blessed with incredible physical tools but he made himself into a superb player in MLB thanks to an amazing work ethic and the stubborn determination to get everything out of his abilities that he could. It's nearly impossible to say what defines being a Baseball Hall of Famer these days but if injuries hadn't suddenly derailed his career, I would say that Pedroia was well on his way to being a lock for Cooperstown, NY.
Despite the tough ending to his career, selfishly I am happy that Pedroia never played for another MLB club except the Red Sox. Fans tend to be oversentimental with this type of thing but it would have been a shame (cough Tom Brady) to see him compete for some other team for a year or two. As it stands, in his 14-year MLB career (which is quite misleading since he only played in 31 games his rookie year and then these last two barely even count), he racked up 1805 hits, scored 922 runs, had 394 doubles, 15 triples, 140 home runs, 725 RBIs and stole 138 bases. His slash line of .299 batting average/.365 on base percentage/.439 slugging percentage is remarkable when you consider just how many games he usually appeared in every season and the physical toll that the style he preferred to play would take on his body over the course of a year let alone an entire career.
Baseball players are not generally known for their outstanding intellects or amazing senses of humor but Pedroia also became a wildly popular star in New England since he let that other side of him come out more and more over the years. He coined the phrase "laser show" to describe his batting exploits while also talking about hitting a baseball "to the moon." MLB seasons are way too long and you need some personalities like his to make them more tolerable and give you a reason to tune into that random late night Red Sox West Coast game on a Tuesday in July. This is why there will be never another Dustin Pedroia for the Red Sox: he had a rare combination of unique traits that basically nobody else does. He wasn't the biggest guy, the most athletic or the most handsome but he was damn fun to watch and cheer for. In his prime, you knew that he would be a very tough out for any pitcher and in the field, you wanted him to handle anything that was hit his way. Thanks for everything Dustin, be damn proud of everything that you accomplished here and enjoy retirement, you earned it.
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