Sunday best
Dustin Pedroia, the American League Rookie of the Year, is back. And he's still got the same chip on his shoulder that endeared him to teammates a year ago.
A sampling from his media gathering this morning:
What does Pedroia have to prove to people this year? “I don’t really care what people think. I don’t really have to prove anything to anybody. I just have to prove stuff to my teammates. I don’t give a [expletive]t what anybody says about me. I’m going to go out there and be who I am and if you don’t like it, watch somebody else. That’s all I care about.”
As for that Rookie of the Year Award? "I don’t think about that, man. That’s just something that sportswriters voted on. I don’t think I was the best rookie. I didn’t really think about it. The only thing I knew is I got an opportunity to play in the World Series and we won. That’s what our goal was all year. The whole Rookie of the Year thing, I’m not really concerned about it. I actually, I might put a little holster on it and hold up my garage door and put it down there.”
Oh, and Pedroia is ready to renew his vow to beat Kevin Youkilis in any type of speed race. “I’m a lot faster than him, let’s just clarify that right now. I’ll race him in my tennis shoes, or no shoes, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just race him.”
There you have it.
Word is that the ace -- No. 19 in your program -- Josh Beckett will meet the press following today's workout.
More later.
Ian.
Well, there you have it!!! You gotta love Pedroia and his competitive spirit!!!
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I just finished reading the complete article that Ian wrote about Dustin Pedroia.
I really enjoyed it!!
The first thing that came to my mind was that I smiled throughout the entire article (even chuckled more than once or twice), the second thing that struck me was the description of Pedroia's personality. Ian, I don't know if would want to be the one to tell this guy that his personality is "CHIRPY". This is the same guy that I read that when he was in training in Arizona, and the BIG college football guys came in to train for the NFL Combine, he was challenging them to foot races and bench presses!!! I don't know but our "Little Guy" sure has no fear and obviously a great big sense of humor!!!
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You folks should check out the "Bradford Files". Rob Bradford has a picture of Lefty Grove and as he writes, Tavarez is a dead ringer for Lefty Grove. Very funny!!
You definetly have to love the attitude of Pedroia. His entire life he has heard he is too short to play. Goes to Arizona State and I am sure some there thought he would never make it to the big leagues. He breaks a bone in his hand in early Sept. last season but you never heard him complain about it, you gotta love that. His great play at second base saved Bucholt'z no hitter, taken away a hit from Tejada. I can see a couple of gold gloves in the future for Pedroia.
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Bosoxb: Don't you just love the kid?? I agree with the too short thing... he probably started hearing that about 5th grade and it's continued since, he's got to be fed up with that. I guess he proved the old addage(sp) "dynamite comes in small packages"!!!
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I agree with u on that, he is just a fighter, and has such a fighting spirit.
Also he went through so much critisism with us , and he didn't gloat about winning ROY. You just have to love that about him
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I'm thinking that without his fierce personality and competitiveness, Pedroia doesn't make the Majors, maybe not even college ball. He just squeezes every ounce of skill and talent out of what he's been given. I have tremendous respect for him.
We've all known people who have gotten "shortchanged" when it comes to talent, smarts, or physical prowess. But by shear force of will and stubborn tenacity, they succeed. Hats off to him.
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I like D. P. as much as the next member of Red Sox Nation, but before we get too carried away, let's not forget Don Schwall. Schwall, a 25 year old pitcher who came up in late May of 1961, won 15 games for the Sox that year along with Rookie of the Year, posting a 3.22 ERA. After winning 9 games in '62, he was sent off to Pittsburgh, where he won a grand total of 25 more games, and was out of baseball by the end of 1967. A good rookie season is just that. I like the attitude that Pedroia expressed when he indicates last year is over, I have to prove myself again. Here's hoping he will, and that he will be the Sox sterling 2b'r for a long time to come. But let's not lose sight of the fact that one season does not a career make.
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You're right. Rookie of the Year honors do not guarantee future success. Eric Hinske is proof of that. He won the AL ROY in 2002 while Jason Jennings won the NL ROY. Neither have tasted much individual success in subsequent seasons. There have been many guys who won the ROY and floundered after that. Bob Hamelin, Pat Listach and Angel Berroa are others.
That said, I firmly believe that Pedroia will have a successful long-term career because of his drive and that chip on his shoulder. And he happens to have some talent, too.
Jeff
http://www.soxandpinstripes.com
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I agree, a ROY title is no guarantee.
But the quality of the team surrounding Pedroia, making him just "one of the weapons" instead of the absolute go-to guy, plus his hard nose style and attitude make me think that he's for real. No fluke there, i'm pretty sure of that.
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I hope no one thinks that I thought that just because he won ROY that it locked in his career as sucessful. I too hope that he has his head in the right place, from what I've read so far, I think that he does. He sounds to be a very grounded guy.
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ps... I think we've found another new Dirt Dawg.
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