This has truly been a remarkable year for Dustin Pedroia, who is setting the standard for Red Sox second baseman. Pedroia is the best Sox second baseman since the great Bobby Doerr, who is a member of the Hall of Fame.
After so many years with an ever-changing array of second-baseman each season, Pedroia is anchoring the position and adding some much-needed stability.
The position was anything but stable from 1999-2001, when Jose Offerman held the position, splitting time with Jeff Frye, Rey Sanchez, Mike Lansing, Lou Merloni and Chris Stynes along the way. Todd Walker had the reigns for just one year, 2003. Mark Belhorn held down the spot in ‘04, and split it with Tony Graffanino in ‘05. Then came Mark Loretta in ‘06, before Pedroia arrived last year.
And what an arrival it was. Pedroia's excellent play earned him the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. But that was merely a hint at what he was truly capable of.
Pedroia now has 200 hits this season and is just the 23d player in club history to do so. Mo Vaughn was the last, when he hit 205 in 1998. What's more, Pedroia has also smacked 50 doubles this season, just the seventh Sox player to accomplish the feat. The only other Red Sox players to reach the combined marks were Hall of Famers Tris Speaker in 1912, and Wade Boggs in 1989.
Earlier this summer, Pedroia set the record for doubles and runs by as Sox second baseman, both previously held by Doerr. And his 69 extra-base hits this year are now tied with Doerr (1940) for the most by a Red Sox second baseman. Further, his 305 total bases broke Doerr’s second base club mark set in 1950.
The 25-year-old has also been a revelation in the field. as well as at the plate. Pedroia holds a .991 fielding percentage this season, and earned his first All Star selection do to his consistently excellent all-around play. We should get used to it; there will surely be many more Mid-Summer Classics in his future. Last year he made a name for himself, this year he became a star.
Pedroia's name will likely be listed throughout the Red Sox record book, and his legacy a part of fan lore, before his days in Boston are through. Get used to it, enjoy it, and be thankful that he's ours.
Red Sox players with 200-hit seasons (notice the striking absence of Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski):
Year Player Hits
1912 Tris Speaker 222
1934 Bill Werber 200
1938 Joe Vosmik 201
1940 Doc Cramer 200
1942 Johnny Pesky 205
1946 Johnny Pesky 208
1947 Johnny Pesky 207
1977 Jim Rice 206
1978 Jim Rice 213
1979 Jim Rice 201
1983 Wade Boggs 210
1984 Wade Boggs 203
1985 Wade Boggs 240
1985 Bill Buckner 201
1986 Wade Boggs 207
1986 Jim Rice 200
1987 Wade Boggs 200
1988 Wade Boggs 214
1989 Wade Boggs 205
1996 Mo Vaughn 207
1997 Nomar Garciaparra 209
1998 Mo Vaughn 205
2008 Dustin Pedroia 200
Red Sox players with 50-double seasons:
Earl Webb - 67 (1931) (MLB Record)
Nomar Garciaparra - 56 (2002)
Tris Speaker - 53 (1912)
David Ortiz - 52 (2007)
Nomar Garciaparra - 51 (2000)
Wade Boggs - 51 (1989)
Joe Cronin - 51 (1938)
Dustin Pedroia - 50 (2008)
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