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- DickyT83, on 11/18/2008, -3/+19Love this kid. Glad to see it was given to him. *****, the guys 5'7 and batted .635 when they tossed him in at cleanup for those few games there. What a beast.
- neveroddoreven, on 11/18/2008, -3/+17Pedroya the Destroya!
- tlo182, on 11/18/2008, -2/+14***** yeah!
http://i2.tinypic.com/4y5od5g.gif - jedijain, on 11/18/2008, -3/+13go sox!
without him, the playoff run and crazy game 5 comeback wouldnt have been possible - GregFD3S, on 11/18/2008, -2/+12 * 2004 Golden Spikes Award Finalist
* 2004 First-Team Baseball America and USA Today All-American
* 2003 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year
* 2003 Pac-10 Player of Forever
* 2003 NCAA Defensive Player of the Year
* Red Sox ML Base Runner of the Month (April 2005)
* Red Sox Minor League "Quality Plate Appearances" Award (June 2005)
* 2005 Post-Season Eastern League All-Star
* 2005 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year
* 2005 Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 - No. 45
* 2006 Minor League News MLN FAB50 Baseball 2006 - No. 23
* 2007 American League Rookie of the Month-May
* 2007 American League Player of the Week (May 28–June 3)
* 2007 Players Choice American League Outstanding Rookie
* 2007 World Series Champion (Boston Red Sox)
* 2007 American League Rookie of the Year
* 2008 Voted into his first All-Star game
* 2008 AL Gold Glove Winner
* 2008 AL Silver Slugger award
* 2008 AL Most Valuable Player Award - tellyousomeday, on 11/18/2008, -0/+6it's good to see that people actually recognize second basemen.
- bushisadumbass, on 11/18/2008, -2/+7I'm not a Red Sox fan, but Pedroia is a hell of a player! He deserved to win this award hands down.
Congratulations Dustin! - batshitcrazy, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5He's such a versatile hitter; he'll take the biggest swing i've ever seen and put it over the monster, or just poke the bat completely out of the strike zone and bloop a shallow single. Not to mention solid defense at 2nd base, and he's only been in the majors 2 full years... incredible player, and well deserving of MVP status!
- DickyT83, on 11/19/2008, -0/+4Ask the Yanks for me how golfing went last month.
- paulb0t, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4LASER SHOW
- esquire360, on 11/18/2008, -1/+4Little Big Bat!
- stev31h, on 11/19/2008, -0/+3just because you never won it doesn't mean you have to be bitter about it
- wharpua, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3I'm not sure I'd still include "Red Sox Minor League Base Runner of the Month" on my resume at this point, but that's just me.
- boardthis, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2the MVP has been clearly the best player on a playoff team from voting within the recent past and pedroia was that best all around player from the AL playoff teams this year.
a-rod's monster 2001 and 2002 seasons with the lowly rangers and no MVP backs up this theory. - BeaverBoy, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3the most important person worth recognizing in the entire stadium is the beer man.
- hawksfan03, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2so you're saying milton bradley should have won? He was the 3rd or 4th best hitter on his team behind hamilton, kinsler, and michael young
- erkokite, on 11/18/2008, -4/+6Pedroia the Destroia.
- supersheep7, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3Why does average matter, if Sizemore got on base at the same clip? What does it matter if he got on base by hit or by walk?
Hits might drive in baserunners, sure, but Sizemore also had a higher RBI total.
"coming up when it matters" - what does this even mean? Is it Grady Sizemore's fault that the rest of his team couldn't hit, and nobody except Cliff Lee could pitch worth a damn? - jaygeary, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2I've loved Pedroia since he tore onto the Red Sox two summers ago, and I've respected him since I saw the pictures a little over a year ago.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/servlet/Images/phot ...
Little guy looks like he knows how to throw down. - Liability, on 11/19/2008, -1/+3Hard work and dedication, well done!
- jaygeary, on 11/19/2008, -0/+2wikipedia ftw
- brsteve88, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3No that doesn't even make sense. Go back to 4chan and tentacle porn.
- boardthis, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2not many at all. the only one that comes to mind this season was evan longoria.
- boardthis, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1@supersheep7
there are of course exceptions. like andre dawson in 1987 with the last place cubs.
howard's BA and most importantly OBP was so disgustingly low that more voters drifted over to pujols' side. - ThePags, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Personally i dont even think he was the mvp on his team, look at the stats, Kevin Youkilis is clearly mvp.
- supersheep7, on 11/18/2008, -0/+1Except you're wrong: Pujols beat out Howard this year.
Regardless, even if this disqualifies Mauer and Sizemore, I'd still contend that Youkilis was a better choice than Pedroia. - LabiaMajora, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2Pedroia is from the town I was born, raised and still reside in.
He went to highschool and was friends with my older brother, so I knew him.
I am happy to see this. - efitz11, on 11/18/2008, -2/+3dugg for "Hey, I thought we were trying to win this game."
- brsteve88, on 11/18/2008, -1/+2No. I'm sorry you're just wrong. First of all, Sizemore's average was 58 points lower than Pedroia, so don't say he beats every category. Secondly, it's not just about average and power, it's about coming up when it matters, and he did that. Also, no matter how easy his position, he did more than asked for. He deserves every MVP vote he got.
- dieboldcracy, on 11/18/2008, -2/+3wow, you have issues
- Tegurit34, on 11/19/2008, -1/+2There was no far and away clear winner in the AL this year so I'm not real upset at this (except he got as many votes as Albert Pujols, which is mind boggling), but it should be noted that Pedroia was not the best player in the AL. Joe Mauer plays a position worth a full win more, Mauer posted a higher on-base percentage in a park that isn't hitter friendly (contrary to popular belief, the "Homer Dome" really isn't) and Pedroia was only marginally better in slugging when you consider Fenway heavily inflates doubles to right-handed hitters, which is what propelled his overall power numbers.
So the guy who I think should have won was worth 1 to 1.5 wins more than the guy who actually won. That's not the biggest crime the BBWAA has ever committed, but I'd really like to point out that there's still a lot of room for improvement.
As for the argument for Grady Sizemore -- it's a good one. As far as repeatable skills go, I'd put him above both. But both Mauer and Pedroia were so incredibly clutch last year that things were much closer. Sizemore is about 1 win better than Pedroia, but Pedroia was worth a full win more in high leverage situations so it'd be a coin flip for me for second place. However, going forward I'd go with Sizemore because clutch is not repeatable skill. - twertyto, on 11/18/2008, -1/+2Wow! Only about an hour and a half from submission to front page. Keep it up Digg.
- jedijain, on 11/20/2008, -0/+1except youk was cleanup hitter
a hitter will always puts up bigger numbers in the 4 spot than the 2 (where pedroia was)
at that point you look at the defense and spirit he brought to a team
you cant deny pedroia the destroya - coldwind777, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1Think about the runners already on base: a hit gets you more bases than a walk. A single with a man on second can get you up to 3 bases, including a score. A walk with a man on second gets you one base, no score. Hits are always more valuable than walks.
- aarongzmn, on 11/26/2008, -0/+1Really? Why? Pedroia is a 20 SB 20 HR guy. Pretty good but MVP? I don't think so.
- theloofa, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1If Mauer didn't have Morneau hitting behind him, his OPS may very well have been 700. Morneau also had more RBIs in big situations this year (not to mention more overall.)
One could then make the argument that Mauer is scoring on all of Morneau's RBIs, but flipping them around in the batting order wont give Mauer all the RBIs because he only hits singles. They would instead go to Young or Cuddyer.
Also, I always seem to notice Mauer grounding into double plays at the worst possible moment... - jedijain, on 11/20/2008, -0/+1yank fan and pedroia (i.e. yankee playoff hopes killer) fan...
does not compute
you just divided by zero my friend - coldwind777, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1yeah, but...Mauer's a catcher. Morneau plays first base. Morneau may hit for more power, but Mauer makes up for it by getting on base more. It can be easily argued that Mauer's 864 OPS is more valuable than Morneau's 873, because Mauer contributes similarly in a more defensively demanding position where players who can hit well are a rarity. Any time you have a catcher who wins a batting title, it's a big deal. Mauer was better than Morneau this year.
- hmmmok, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1What a joke. Except for HR Jeter had better #'s in '05 and got nothing. More Yankee-hating voters.
- boardthis, on 11/19/2008, -0/+1here's my list of toughest defensive positions to play in order... C, CF, SS, 2B. center fielders need to have a ton of speed to chase down balls the corner outfielders cannot get to especially in the NL where there is no DH and they need to possess at least an above average arm. to play 2B all u need are good hand-eye coordination and footwork. of course u have to be smart since 90% of the relays come through 2B but it is not the most athletic position to play and u can survive with having a noodle arm.
- theloofa, on 11/18/2008, -1/+1Morneau was a much better MVP candidate than Mauer this year... all Mauer can do is single to left or ground out to second
- jedijain, on 11/20/2008, -1/+1only the problem is,
pedroia put up NUMBERS - nrvous250gt, on 11/18/2008, -1/+1Don't forget - MVP isn't just about offensive/defensive stats, it's about contribution to the team. I challenge you to find someone who had more timely/clutch hits this season than Pedroia. He carried that team many times.
- brsteve88, on 11/18/2008, -1/+1Coming up when it matters means that you can be trusted to perform in big and close games, which I saw Pedroia do a lot of. More than Youk, though Youk certainly doesn't get the respect he deserves.
Also, how can you compare the defense of a second baseman and a center fielder? - coldwind777, on 11/19/2008, -0/+0Arm: Center fielders need to have stronger arms, yes, but that's not the only thing that factors into having a good arm. Second basemen need to be more accurate with their throws and also need to have a quick transfer and release while maintaining accuracy. It's hard.
Range: Yes, the CF needs more here, but not as much as you'd think. They're a lot farther from the batter, so they have a lot of time to pick the ball up off the bat. A second baseman has a lot less time to react to the ball, and must move quickly to get to it. Also, the second baseman covers nearly the entire right half of the infield when there's a runner on first, because the first baseman stays on the bag for the pick-off. CF still needs more, but it's not as big a disparity as you would think.
The two things that a CF needs more than a second baseman are range and arm power, but everything else goes to the second baseman. Second baseman is a very athletic position.
The "official" defensive spectrum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensive_spectrum) actually goes C, SS, 2B, CF. Now, you don't have to trust that, but even the spectrums most favoring the CF have them tied with 2B. Well, except yours. - bosoxrock, on 11/19/2008, -1/+1i agree that kinsler is under-rated also. but, bradley's stats speak for themselves.
btw, i love pedroia, i'm a huge sox fan. i think pedro was robbed in '99. i just don't think pedroia was as dominant or as valuable to his team as some other candidates this year. - NYKnicker, on 11/19/2008, -0/+0As a Yankees faithful, I'll tip my hat to the kid.
- supersheep7, on 11/18/2008, -2/+2I challenge you to enumerate Pedroia's "clutch hits" and prove that he had more than Youk or Mauer
- AreTooDeTo, on 11/18/2008, -2/+2i like your use of Boston accent
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