Rookie of the Year, league MVP, two-time World Series Champion, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glover. Major League Baseball careers don’t get much more decorated than that. Dustin Pedroia has it all, and he also has one of the most fascinating scouting reports ever.
In two of the first three sentences, National Scouting Coordinator Allan Simpson told MLB front offices that Pedroia’s tools are below average and that he’s not physically gifted. But sandwiched in between the two, he said that he will be a big leaguer, and probably an everyday player. Not something you typically see from a scout.
That’s the story of Dustin’s career. He defied the odds time and time again, racking up WAR alongside Hall of Famers like Adrian Beltré, Albert Pujols, and Miguel Cabrera. From 2007 to 2017, only the three just mentioned, Robinson Canó, Mike Trout, and Joey Votto posted more wins above replacement. Pedroia ranked seventh in hits and WAR, and fourth in doubles during this span. This 10-year stretch started with Pedroia’s MVP but unfortunately ended with an assortment of lower body injuries that brought his career to an abrupt end.
Dustin Pedroia’s Grit Gives Him Chance at Hall of Fame
Pedroia’s Origins
Growing up in Woodland, California, a small town northwest of Sacramento, Pedroia attended Woodland High School, where he played both football and baseball. His football aspirations were cut short during his freshman year when a tackle from future NFL All-Pro linebacker Lance Briggs left him with a shattered ankle (an unfortunate sign of things to come). As a senior baseball player, Pedroia did not strike out one time all season, posting a .445 batting average, leading him to be chosen as his league’s most valuable player.
In a journey that seems like a myriad of fun facts, Pedrioa’s college career was much of the same. At Arizona State, he and Ian Kinsler competed for the shortstop job. Pedroia won, leading Kinsler to transfer to the University of Missouri. Then, in 2018, they won a World Series together with the Boston Red Sox. During his ASU career, he posted a career average of .384 while starting all 185 games. Interestingly enough, Dustin gave up the last two years of his athletic scholarship so that the team could recruit better pitchers.
The Red Sox drafted Pedroia in the second round of the 2004 MLB draft, with the 65th pick overall.
A Lesson For the Little Guys
One of the most beautiful parts of baseball is that anyone can be great, regardless of size. At 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, Pedroia’s “tireless work ethic, exceptional sense of the game, and tremendous on-field presence” made him someone scouts could not ignore.
For all the middle infielders and undersized players out there, here is the Pedroia model: Develop very sure hands, a quick release, and excellent hand-eye coordination. Become adept at cheating and anticipating plays. It’s okay if you don’t have a pretty swing and are mainly a slap hitter, but have good strike-zone judgment and be a tough out. Then you may have a shot of finding your way onto a Hall of Fame ballot.
Career Year Breakdown
Although Pedroia had a season that was 9% better in terms of OPS+, in only one season did he win a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, make an All-Star team, and be voted American League Most Valuable Player. 2008 was Pedroia’s career year, and it was a special one. His ranks across Major League Baseball for key statistical categories are as follows:
WAR (7.0): 7th, 1st in the AL
Hits (213): T-1st
Doubles (54): 1st
What made Pedroia special throughout his career was his ability to combine contact, power, and discipline at the plate with elite defense up the middle. On defense, Pedroia tied for 13th in baseball with 13 Defensive Runs Saved over 157 games at second base. At the plate, Pedroia’s season was not your typical MVP-style season filled with brute mashing. Although he posted a noteworthy.493 slugging percentage, he hit only 17 home runs.
Pedroia really was such a unique player and unique hitter. He had only 52 strikeouts in over 700 plate appearances. He swung at pitches out of the zone less than average, and when he did chase, he made contact at a 20% higher clip than the average hitter. Knowing his contact ability (2.4% SwStr), Pedroia could be especially selective with his swing decisions, an important piece of what allowed him to be great, and this was showcased in ’08. He swung in the zone, and overall, less than the average big leaguer.
Put all this together, you get someone who impacts the game day in and day out. Pedroia sure did, as the Red Sox fell short of their title defense in the ALCS, losing to the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games.
Pedroia’s Hall of Fame Case
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— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 25, 2021
Less than 150 players in baseball history have won an MVP award, putting Pedroia alongside several inner-circle members of the club he’s vying to join. Baseball Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor has given Pedroia a 94, with 100 being a likely Hall of Famer. It’s fair to assume with a perfect bill of health, Pedroia certainly eclipses 100.
He is a top 200 player of all-time in terms of WAR (51.9), ironically higher than fellow Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr. Pedroia’s 10-year stretch in the middle of his career was as good as anyone in baseball at the time. From 2008 to 2018, he compiled 42.4 WAR, ranking 14th in baseball with several Hall of Famers above him.
His defense was at a special level, as highlighted above. Over the last 25 years, only 13 players have more Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), and only 7 have an Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) higher than Pedroia. Of these players, only the names Beltré, Andruw Jones, Scott Rolen, and Manny Machado have hit nearly to the level that Pedroia achieved.
The Sox second baseman lived up to every bit of his scouting report. He played hard every day for years before his body couldn’t take it anymore. My assumption is that Pedroia will fall short of the Hall of Fame, but I tip my cap to him for a remarkable career.
Click here to find information regarding which players are eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.
Photo Credit: © Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
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