Hes not even the MVP of his team

By Maureen Mullen / For The Item
BOSTON -- It seems every time Dustin Pedroia is in the vicinity of the baseball, the chants begin: 'M-V-P, M-V-P.'

And why not? His name litters each game's box score as much as it does the list of American League offensive leaders: batting average, number one at .326 entering last night's game against the Orioles; hits (first, 183); multihit games (first, 53); runs scored (first, 106); doubles (third, 42); total bases (fifth, 274); hardest to strike out (third-best, every 13.1 plate appearances).

The box score from last night's game, a 7-4 win over the O's in front of 37,565 at Fenway Park, was no different: on base three times by a walk, a single, and a double, two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base. Pedroia even handled the final out, a grounder off the bat of pinch-hitter Oscar Salazar, to seal the win.

His sixth-inning single was his 184th of the season, breaking the Sox record for hits in a season by a second baseman, set by Del Pratt in 1922. His two hits last night gave him 15 in his last six games.

But an MVP, generously listed at 5 feet, 9 inches and 160 pounds?

"I wouldn't say he's carried us, but he's done a great job," Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He's a good player. Tonight, Coco (Crisp) gets a big hit, (a sixth-inning RBI single), and a kid, (Dennis Sarfate), comes in throwing 95 (mph) probably off the plate away. 'Petey's' going one way and the bat head's going another and he hits a bullet to right. He just has an amazing knack to get the barrel of the bat on the ball."
That time for a two-run single.

"He's getting to know the league," Francona said. "He's a very talented player. I do think he's faster. He's worked hard and he's more confident. He has the freedom to steal bases and he's got very good instincts. His spot in the order (back to second in the lineup last night), with the emergence of (Kevin Youkilis), allows him to run in situations where, when they'd want to walk somebody, we feel like we're still going to score or keep the lineup moving."

"I wouldn't say (he's) amazing me. He's just settled into his own and who he is," Jason Varitek said. "I meant he's just settled into (being) Dustin Pedroia. You got to remember everybody was ready to get him out of here the first month of last season. And his personality's come out and everything. Just a good baseball player. All around, he's a very good baseball player."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen jokingly referred to the diminutive Pedroia as a "jockey" over the weekend, admitting to being "a big Pedroia fan." The Sox second baseman victimized Guillen's team for 11 consecutive times on base.

For Paul Byrd, whom the Sox acquired last month, his second baseman is better than he believed before he joined the Sox.

"Seeing him day in and day out, how much he means to this team, I knew he was a good player and I didn't like facing him because he was pesky and hit the ball in when I pitched him away. When I pitched him away, he hit the ball there, too," said Byrd, who improved to 10-11, 4.58 ERA, 2-2 with the Sox. "But I didn't realize how good he was defensively. As he goes, we go. He says all the right things in the dugout. He's always excited. He's always fired-up. He always plays super hard no matter what the score is. Since I've been here, he can hit home runs, he can hit base hits the other way with bases loaded. It's one of those things where he does a lot of things very, very well.

Including a diving stop to snare a Brian Roberts shot, ending the seventh inning, maybe less visible in the box score, a simple 4-3 groundout. But noticeable to the man who was on the mound.

"That's a great play," Byrd said. "Nobody's going to notice that play, but I needed something like that at that point and it was a huge play. I love defense and I notice defense because I don't strike guys out and I don't walk many people, so I pay attention to who is moving on the infield and outfield. I feel like I've got two guys playing second base. And that doesn't mean that our other guys can't play. We have a great defense every night, which is huge for me. But I really want to single him out because he got the big hit and got the big play. Not everybody notices that. I noticed that play. I noticed that dive."

"He said that?" Pedroia asked when informed of Byrd's comments. "Oh, that's a great compliment from him. I definitely love playing behind him. Hopefully, these last whatever games we can play well and get in the playoffs and carry it over."

While his teammates are happy to talk about his performance, Pedroia has little time for that.

"I don't know. I'm just playing the game," he said. "There's no real reason why. I think I'm getting more experienced and I'm working hard at it, and trying to get better every day I come out."

And those chants of 'M-V-P, M-V-P'?

"I think it's wonderful," Varitek said. "I think it's well-deserved."

The card show was in Medford, he thinks, but he's not certain. It was a cab ride, and sure enough, the cabbie had his radio tuned to the sports talk station, and everybody it seemed, hosts and callers, were making sport of Pedroia.

"Those guys were crushing me," he said. "I'm thinking, 'This is tough.'

"I get to the signing, and this guy comes up to me with a baseball and says, 'Hey, I want you to sign "Dustin Pedroia ROY '07." ' "

The acronym is shorthand for "Rookie of the Year." Pedroia was hitting about a buck eighty at the time.

"I said, 'Dude, what are you, drunk? Get out of here, man,' " Pedroia said. "The guy says, 'No, I'm serious.'

"I said, 'Hey, buddy, if I sign this and win Rookie of the Year, I want that ball.' He goes, 'No problem.' "

Fast-forward to August, and another card show.

"The same guy shows up," Pedroia said. "He didn't want anything signed. He just showed me the ball. A really good guy. He had his little son with him, he had my jersey on, I'm thinking, 'This is pretty cool, this is what it's all about.'

"Kelli was with me. I go, 'Honey, there's the guy. This guy's great.' I was going nuts."

Pedroia is telling this story in a hotel suite in New York, a few hours before Craig Biggio, who played second base for almost as long as Pedroia has been alive, presented him with the American League Rookie of the Year trophy at the New York baseball writers dinner.

Not according to WPA:
http://www.fangraphs.com/winss.aspx?team=Red%20Sox

For the geeky stat freaks out there, the top VORP scores in the AL are:

Lee 70.0
Halladay 63.0
Sizemore 60.0
A-Rod 57.9
Huff 57.7
Kinsler 55.2
Bradley 55.0
Pedroia 53.2
Quentin 50.2

Youkilis clocks in at 48.2.

honestly, this thread kind of creeps me out.

Where's the creep? Kid blows Upton out of the water. Is Upton still developing?

Pedroia's ADP 2009 - 2.05

Batting .706 since getting moved to the cleanup slot. Did anyone peg him as a 20/20 guy?

Batting .706 since getting moved to the cleanup slot. Did anyone peg him as a 20/20 guy?

I did, you can even ask my friend Seth.

Segway Seth

Good call. I wouldve voted Youk, Mauer, Pedroia in that order

Youkilis' numbers do not stand out as much compared to other first basemen.

And for that reason, I would have gone Mauer, Pedroia.

Most valuable - The guy can play anywhere on the field and was pretty clutch this year. That's value.