Dustin Pedroia

Early life and high school

Pedroia was born in Woodland, California, on August 17, 1983. His parents operated a tire shop in the city where they would work fourteen hours per day. Debbie Pedroia played tennis at Sacramento City College. Pedroia's older brother, Brett, played baseball as a catcher at Shasta College.

Pedroia attended Woodland High School in Woodland, California where he played baseball and football. His football career ended when, as a freshman quarterback, a hit from future NFL linebacker Lance Briggs shattered his ankle. As a senior baseball player, Pedroia did not strike out all season, compiled a .445 batting average and was chosen as his league's most valuable player. He once called his hometown "a dump".

College career

Pedroia attended Arizona State University (ASU), where he played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team. He was teammates with Ian Kinsler and Andre Ethier. Kinsler and Pedroia competed for the shortstop position at ASU. Ultimately, Pedroia stayed at shortstop, while Kinsler ended up at second base before transferring to the University of Missouri. In three years at ASU, Pedroia never hit below .347 and had a career average of .384, starting all 185 games. To help ASU recruit better pitchers, Pedroia also relinquished the last two years of his athletic scholarship. He was named ASU On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player; other winners have included Ike Davis, Willie Bloomquist, Paul Lo Duca, and Barry Bonds.

Minor leagues

Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, with the 65th pick overall. Pedroia, the eighth shortstop drafted, received a $575,000 signing bonus.

In two years in the minors (2004–06), Pedroia batted .308 while playing second base and shortstop.

2006-2007

After a brief call-up in 2006, when he hit just .191 in 89 at-bats, Pedroia became the regular second baseman for the Red Sox in 2007 replacing Mark Loretta. Pedroia suffered through an early-season hitting slump, but recovered, later putting up a 13-game hitting streak and a five-hit game against the Giants. He notably made a diving stop to preserve fellow rookie Clay Buchholz's no-hitter on September 1. Pedroia won the AL Rookie of the Year award and was selected to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team.

The Red Sox played the Indians in the 2007 ALCS. In Game 7 of the series, Pedroia homered and doubled, collecting five RBI to secure the Red Sox' spot in the World Series, to face the Rockies. Pedroia homered in the first at bat of the series, making him only the second player, and the first rookie, to lead off the Series with a home run. The Red Sox went on to win their second World Series title in four seasons – and the first World Series championship for Pedroia.

2008

Pedroia performed very well during the 2008 regular season, and received AL MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He was the first-ever Red Sox second baseman to win a Silver Slugger Award, the first Red Sox second baseman to win a Gold Glove since Doug Griffin in 1972, and the first second baseman to win an MVP Award since Nellie Fox in 1959. He hit .326 with 17 homers over 726 PAs, for a 127 wRC+. Pedroia was defensively great, making only six errors through 157 games, saving +9.7 runs over the season, according to UZR. 2008 was also Pedroia's most productive season on the basepaths; he stole 20 bases in 21 attempts, for baserunning worth 4.9 runs above average.

Pedroia's contribution in the regular season was rated 6.5 WAR by Fangraphs, a "superstar" level of performance. He became only the third player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons joining Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard, and later was followed by Kris Bryant.

Pedroia was hitless through the first three games of the 2008 ALDS, recording only an RBI double in Game 4. The Red Sox defeated the Angels in four games. In the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Pedroia collected 9 hits in 26 plate appearances, including three home runs and a double. The rest of the team struggled to a .234 batting average against the Tampa pitching staff, and the Red Sox lost the series.

2009

On December 3, 2008, Pedroia signed a six-year contract extension worth $40.5 million, with an additional team option for 2015 worth $11 million.

Pedroia announced on December 15, 2008 that he would play for the United States team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He recorded the first Major League hit in Citi Field history during an April 3 exhibition game against the Mets. He hit a home run in his first at bat of the 2009 season.

Pedroia was selected to start for the 2009 AL All Star Team. However, Pedroia had to withdraw from the team to stay with his wife Kelli, who was experiencing pregnancy complications with the couple's first child. The same issue had caused him to miss a regular season game prior to the All Star break.

Pedroia achieved his first multi-home run game on September 9, 2009, against the Orioles.

2010

In 2010, MLB umpire Joe West made controversial statements regarding the speed of play between the Red Sox and Yankees, Pedroia responded by saying, "What he doesn't understand is that when we don't do well in these games against the Yankees, we get killed. If he doesn't want to do Red Sox and Yankee games, he should tell the umpires' union. Then when we're in the World Series, he'll be out of that assignment, too."

On June 24, 2010, Pedroia went 5 for 5, with 5 RBI, and hit three home runs in a game against the Rockies that the Red Sox won, 13–11, in the tenth inning. The next day, Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot in an at-bat versus the Giants. MRI results the next day confirmed that he had a broken bone in his foot, and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Pedroia was under doctor's orders not to put weight on his injured foot for two weeks, but continued to practice fielding grounders while on his knees.

Pedroia was named to be a reserve player on the 2010 AL All Star team, but did not participate due to this injury, and had former Arizona State teammate Ian Kinsler replace him on the roster. Pedroia returned to the lineup on August 17 against the Angels, only to be put back on the DL after playing 2 games. Pedroia would end the 2010 season having played only 75 games.

2011

In 2011, Pedroia bounced back, batting .307 and slugging 21 home runs over 159 games. He won a Fielding Bible Award in 2011 as the best fielding second baseman in MLB, and had his best defensive season by ultimate zone rating, with 18.1 runs saved. In June and July, Pedroia had a 25-game hitting streak, the longest for a Red Sox second baseman. On August 16, Pedroia was involved in throwing a triple play, started by Jed Lowrie. Pedroia's 2011 season was rated at 7.6 Wins Above Replacement by Fangraphs, an "MVP-caliber" performance.

2012

On September 30, 2012, Pedroia broke his left ring finger but, after being reassured the injury would not degrade with use, he made the decision to play through the pain in the following season-ending series at Yankee Stadium.

2013

On July 23, 2013, Pedroia and the Red Sox agreed to an 8-year extension worth $110 million. Pedroia was represented in negotiations by Sam Levinson and Seth Levinson of ACES Inc.

Pedroia bounced back from his injury-affected 2012 season to become the only player on the Red Sox to play more than 150 games during the team's 2013 regular season, playing in 160 games. Pedroia posted a strong regular season performance, and was awarded his third Gold Glove, second Fielding Bible Award, and the Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year Award for the American League. The Red Sox won their division and went on to win the World Series.

In November 2013, Pedroia underwent thumb surgery to repair a torn UCL, an injury he suffered when sliding to first base on opening day.

2014

In May 2014, Pedroia hit his 100th career home run and his 300th career double. Pedroia hit only four home runs before the 2014 All Star break, and his hitting productivity dropped to league average. However, his fielding numbers remained strong. For his defensive performance, Pedroia was honored with the American League Gold Glove award at second base—his fourth in his nine-year career—along with his third Fielding Bible Award. This made him the first Red Sox infielder to win four Gold Gloves.

2015

Pedroia began the 2015 MLB season with two home runs in the Red Sox opening game, on the road at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia. On June 25, 2015 the Red Sox placed him on the 15-day disabled list due to a right hamstring strain.

2016

Pedroia had a strong month as a hitter in August, culminating in a streak of three games, from August 25 through 27, over which he hit safely in 11 consecutive at bats, falling one hit shy of tying the major league record of 12 consecutive at bats with a base hit (shared by three players since 1902). During the streak, Pedroia had 10 singles, one double, scored two runs and drove in three. He also walked once during the streak, thus reaching base safely over 12 consecutive plate appearances. Pedroia finished the 2016 season with a batting average of .318. In 154 games of 2016, Pedroia finished the year with a .318 batting average, 201 hits, 36 doubles, 105 runs scored, 15 home runs, and 74 RBI.

The Red Sox finished the 2016 season with a 93-69 record, clinching the AL East division, but were swept in three games by the Indians in the 2016 ALDS. On October 13, 2016, Pedroia underwent left knee surgery, a partial medial meniscectomy and chondroplasty. Despite the surgery, he and teammate Mookie Betts won two of the ten 2016 Fielding Bible awards. He also won the 2016 Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for second base, in all of MLB.

2017

On May 30, Pedroia was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left wrist sprain. On August 1, he was again placed on the 10-day disabled list due to left knee soreness. On August 12, Pedroia was placed on the disabled list for the third time of the season due to soreness in the same knee.

Personal life

Pedroia has garnered multiple nicknames during his time in Boston, these include: Pedey, Laser Show, and the Muddy Chicken. Pedroia is of Swiss Italian (Brione s/Minusio, Canton Ticino), Portuguese and Spanish heritage. He is the nephew of Temple University defensive coordinator Phil Snow.

On January 9, 2009, Pedroia was named as the cover athlete of the baseball video game MLB 09: The Show, and appeared in several commercials for the game.

On August 18, 2009, Dustin's wife, Kelli, gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy named Dylan. On September 13, 2012, Dustin and Kelli welcomed their second son, Cole. On June 13, 2014, the couple had their third son, Brooks. Dustin Pedroia is a fan of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

In a 2009 interview given to Boston, Pedroia criticized his home town of Woodland, California, calling it a "dump" and a city that never embraced him. This generated backlash from his hometown and his family received death threats. Pedroia later clarified his comments saying he was only joking and his comments were taken out of context. The original article's author, however, insisted that his use of the comment was not misleading. His transcript of the interview with Pedroia quoted Pedroia as saying "It's a dump. You can quote me on that. I don't give a shit."

Pedroia has expressed an interest in bigfoot, including tweeting about the show Finding Bigfoot from his Twitter account.

Pedroia enjoys playing the game cribbage; he and former manager, Terry Francona, used to play together.