First things first: the Boston Red Sox are terrible. They are playing such abysmal and, frankly, embarrassing baseball that I could hardly bring myself to write about them. I simply did not see a point in adding to the veritable Everest of negativity facing the team right now. Besides, those story lines are all told by this point. Every day there are new articles about their struggles. What good would one more do? What could I say that hadn’t been said?
As it turned out, I could say something positive. It surprised me, too, but there actually is something very bright hidden amidst the refuse (aside from Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts) that is the Red Sox’ lineup. Or perhaps I should say, at the top of it. Dustin Pedroia, longtime second baseman, former MVP and Rookie of the Year, and the heart and soul of Fenway Park, is quietly having one of the finest seasons of his career hitting out of the leadoff spot.
The last few seasons saw a severe decline in Pedroia’s power numbers and pull-hitting ability, as wrist and thumb injuries prevented him from really putting anything into his swings. After surgery in the offseason, Pedroia reported that he was feeling like his old self again, and promised an offensive resurgence. Boy, has he ever delivered.
Last season, Pedroia hit just seven home runs, the lowest single-season total of his career. The season before, he hit only nine. Now, just halfway into June of the 2015 season, the unofficial captain of the Red Sox has crushed nine already, and it is clear that he is once again the offensive force Bostonians are used to watching. Pedroia currently ranks in the top-five amongst second basemen in WAR, OPS, slugging percentage, OBP, batting average, home runs, and hits. And that’s not just in the American league, that’s in all of baseball. No other player at his position can claim that distinction. In the field, Pedroia has made a few more errors than he normally does, but the sad state of Boston’s defense has led to more forced plays than usual, which leads to more miscues. Make no mistake: Pedroia is still providing his usual stellar defense, and anyone who has watched him play this season knows that.
Even more impressive has been Pedroia’s attitude this season. While the rest of the team has looked disheartened at best, and disinterested at worst, for much of 2015, Pedroia remains as defiant and determined ass ever. Over and over, he has emphatically stated that the Sox aren’t giving up, and while that does not seem to be true for many members of the roster, there is little doubt that the man who calls himself the “Laser Show” is doing his damnedest to win every single game. He approaches each at bat and every play in the field like a man attempting to put the entire team on his back. If force of will alone could win games, the Sox would be undefeated thanks to his indomitable drive.
This is what Sox fans have come to expect from Pedroia, and it is why he has been so loved by the people of Boston over his career there. Always one of the grittiest players in baseball, always playing like an underdog with a chip on his shoulder, Pedroia never gives up. It is that attitude and approach that the fans love. The Sox are one of the worst teams in baseball right now. That is undeniable. But we as fans should at least appreciate that we still get to watch one of the toughest and hardest-working players in baseball. Pedroia can’t make the Sox win by himself, but go ahead and try telling him that. He just might do it to prove you wrong.
Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
