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Post by scrappyunderdog on Feb 1, 2021 13:39:20 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 20m By the way... there's always been curiosity about whether there was any room for the Sox to maneuver with Pedroia's contract. The answer has always -- and appropriately -- been no. If Theo was here, he'd have gamed it. The last three years of the contract would become void when Pedey prematurely retired. And, if by magic, Pedey would've gotten $42M/10 consulting contract.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 14:59:18 GMT -5
Rob Bradford @bradfo · 30m Just talked to David Ortiz about Pedroia retirement: 'He showed the whole planet it wasn't about height, it was about balls ... If I had to pick one player to pay to watch it was Dustin Pedroia' I was just about to post something similar. Baseball will remain popular because you can play without any particular athletic talent. I played with one 2B that, imo, had very little talent. But he missed nothing. Made every play that he could reach. Ran down the RF line so well that he was almost like a 4th OF. Never missed taking any extra base. I didn't even like the guy, but the dude never made a mistake. Any, I digress. Kudos to Pedey. I was pondering his chances for the HOF the same day Machado kicked out his knee. He will go to the Red Sox hall of fame likely have his number retired but I think that the injury shit canned his chances for the HOFHe is one of my favs of all time with Yaz and Big Papi.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:03:53 GMT -5
Ryan M. Spaeder @theaceofspaeder · 39m #RedSox Dustin Pedroia had 7,029 career plate appearances including postseason play, he went down looking on three straight pitches just three times – of those nine total pitches, four were actually outside of the zone.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:09:03 GMT -5
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:10:28 GMT -5
For a certain generation of fan, Dustin Pedroia was the Red Sox
A tribute to one of the all-time greats in the history of the franchise. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Feb 1, 2021, 2:49pm EST
The first memories I have watching baseball were in 1998, though I didn’t really know much of what was going on beyond thinking the home run chase was awesome. I slowly became a fan from there, with specific memories of Pedro in 1999 and 2000, but I didn’t really get into it on the day-to-day, minutia level until 2004. Good timing, I know. And so I obviously did get to see and follow most of the Red Sox careers of some of the best and most iconic players the franchise has seen, like David Ortiz and Pedro Martínez and Manny Ramírez and Jason Varitek, among plenty of others. But for that generation of player, the ones that brought home that 2004 title, they were already there when I really started paying attention. It was still gratifying, of course, but it wasn’t the same as watching a career unfold before your very eyes.
And so for me, and for fans whose trajectory watching this team have followed a similar path as mine, the first great Red Sox player we really got to see from beginning to end was Dustin Pedroia. We were there when he first came up and looked so bad there were people who didn’t ever want to see him get another chance. We were there when he then turned around and won Rookie of the Year that same season. We were there when he followed that up with an MVP campaign. We were there for all three of his championships — he wasn’t really any significant part of 2018 on the field, but we’re still counting it — and we were there for all the Gold Gloves and all the All-Star appearances, and everything in between.
When I talk about baseball I typically shy away from the intangible things like grit and work ethic and “gamers” and all of that. It’s not because I don’t think that sort of stuff matters, but rather that I think we, from the outside, are typically far too quick to label someone with one of these tags when the truth is we just really have no idea. With Pedroia, we had an idea. I mean, just look at a picture of the guy. Not to be mean, but like, he’s tiny. He should not be a professional athlete, much less one who was on a clear Hall of Fame track before injuries got in the way. But as much as talk about this stuff can be overdone, he really did have the work ethic and determination and whatever other buzzwords you want to throw out to get the most out of his career.
And yet, having said all of that, it still always bothered me in a weird way that so much of the discussion with Pedroia has always revolved around these intangibles. I mean, like I said, they’re there. It’s undeniable. But the sometimes overdone pushing of this stuff masked the fact that he was a supremely athletic and talented baseball player. Yes, the intangibles helped, but it feels like a disservice to him as an athlete to boil him down to that and that alone. He could do things physically at second base that I’ve never seen anyone do. He had a swing that could get power out of that small frame. That wasn’t intangibles. That was being bananas good at baseball. The dude could ball, and in a strange way that has always felt to have been lost in the lore of his career.
But even beyond the talent, there’s so many specific aspects of Pedroia’s game and overall demeanor that are going to stick with me for the rest of my time thinking about baseball. His swing. We talk a lot about the beautiful swings in the game. Ken Griffey Jr. Robinson Canó. The guys who were just smooth all the way through the zone. Pedroia was basically the complete opposite of those guys, and in his own way it was just as beautiful a swing. This little man with a bat much too large for him violently swinging out of his shoes and producing power he had no business producing. No one can really replicate that swing, and you knew when his swings were going to produce something special.
The personality is something that will stick with me for a long time too. So many of my favorite quotes and interviews from athletes were from Pedroia. From the time he was questioned by a Coors security guard and told them to “Ask Jeff Francis [off of whom he had homered earlier in the World Series] who the f*** I am,” to him being asked about taking a below-market deal to stay with the Red Sox and responding “Are you kidding? I’m rich as f***,” to this gem that if I had heard before today I didn’t remember it, all the way to the iconic Laser Show quote. He was a walking quote machine, which is why I think we’d all be lucky if he decided his next path in this game is in the booth. That’s a conversation for another day though.
But for me, beyond the intangibles, beyond the overall talent, beyond the swing, beyond the quotes, it’s the defense that will stick with the most about Pedroia. Second base is losing its luster as a premium defensive position in today’s game with shifting becoming more and more prevalent, but just look at some old clips of Pedroia if you need a reminder for what a game changer it can be to have someone like him there there. He’s probably the best I’ve ever seen at the position, or at the very least in the conversation, and he could do everything. He had range in both directions. He had ridiculously quick hands. His arm strength was out of this world for that spot on the diamond. And the double plays. Oh, the double plays. The combination of footwork, hand speed, arm strength, and toughness to stay in even with player coming in spikes up (hello Manny Machado) is something I’ve only seen from him. I never want to say I’ll never see anyone do something like I saw in the past, but I suspect at the very least it’ll be a while before I see someone turn two the way Pedroia did in his prime.
We all knew this retirement was coming at one point or another. It’s been inevitable for at least three years now, and really over the last 12 months the question was if he’d get one more at bat, not one more season. He deserved that David Wright-esque send off. Hell, we deserved it. But that’s life sometimes, and if we were being honest we always knew it was a longshot he’d even get that. So we’re left with looking back both at what could have been, as in what could have been a plaque in Cooperstown, but more important what was. And as for the what was, well it was one of the most important players in the history of one of the game’s most stories franchises, and a player who will forever define the team for a certain generation of fans. For all the stars to come after him, good luck living up to it.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:12:54 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h A little happier now ...
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:14:23 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h Pedroia got a bit emotional talking about being able to coach his three sons and talked about how his family lived with all his setbacks and surgeries.
In the end, he just wanted to be able to walk and be around the boys.
Pedroia: "I'll be in the game somehow ... I don't know what capacity."
Says he'll decide that once his sons are out of the house. His youngest is 6.
"Coaching or managing, that's a lot of time ...I don't want to miss a thing in their life. They deserve that."
"I don't have any regrets and that's what I'm proud of," Pedroia said.
"I played every game like it was my last one. I had the best time ... I have friends everywhere because of baseball."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:15:44 GMT -5
Pete Abraham @peteabe · 1h Pedroia said he played pretty much all of 2017 knowing his knee would blow out. The doctors told him it was coming.
Said he has no regrets.
Pedroia: "Playing with the Red Sox, it's a family and it's a family for life.
Given the opportunity, Pedroia didn't blow up Manny Machado for that takeout slide in 2017.
"I'm not upset about anything any more."
On several different occasions, Pedroia mentioned that he can't physically run on his knee.
The knee replacement allows him to walk.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:18:19 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams @byjulianmack · 1h Sam Kennedy recalls Dustin Pedroia first convo between Theo Epstein after Epstein drafted him 65th overall. Pedroia to Epstein: " bro, what took you so long?"
Pedroia: "i never took one play off from little league on...at some point, you can’t play anymore and this is the time."
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:20:00 GMT -5
Brian MacPherson @brianmacp · 2h Dustin Pedroia and Joe Mauer had remarkably similar careers: One MVP award, perennial MVP candidate when healthy for a good 6-8 years, rarely struck out, hit far more 2B than HR, tough positions, rapid decline, spent their entire career with one team.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:22:29 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 1h Cora -- 'We learned so much from him in '06. We learned a lot more in '07.'
'It was amazing. He talks about the Laser Show and all that -- I know Pedey and how he is. I had a front seat to see the Laser Show, and it was amazing.' #RedSox
Cora, on his first impressions of Pedroia -- 'I thought I was passionate. I thought I loved the game more than anybody else, but he beat me to the spot.'
'I saw his first at-bat and his last one. I'm glad he was a part of my life.' #RedSox
Kennedy -- 'We are just so grateful for his time in a #RedSox uniform. The fact that he's a Red Sox for life means a lot to us in the organization.'
'We're looking forward to him staying with the club in whatever form that takes.'
Kennedy -- 'It's a sad day for a lot of us who love him and love seeing him in uniform. It's also a great day to bring closure to what has been a Hall of Fame career in many ways.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:24:02 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 1h Pedroia -- 'From that last January 2020 on, every day, I would break down. It was tough. I didn't try to show it with my wife or kids. I would just kind of go in the bathroom.'
'I did this my entire life. To have it just stop, and then fight to get it back, it's tough.' #RedSox
Pedroia -- 'All the energy I have, I have to give it to other people now.' #RedSox
Pedroia -- 'Obviously I would love to play. I would love to be able to put the uniform on.'
'You've got to understand -- they're the best fans ever.'
'To do it one more time -- yeah, of course.'
'But I can't -- I can't run.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:25:43 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 1h Pedroia -- 'We made it back. I played nine games when 90% of the doctors said there was zero chance I could play.'
'It ended that way. That's okay. I just hope I did enough in the time that I had to impact everyone.' #RedSox
Pedroia -- 'I'm not upset about anything anymore. That play could have happened my rookie year. When you play second base and you play it like me, you hold on until the last possible second to get the ball.'
'It happened. Unfortunately I just got caught in a wrong position.'
Pedroia -- 'Play every game as hard as I can. Play to win. That's it. I didn't play for anything else other than winning and winning with your teammates.' #RedSox
Pedroia -- 'I got a chance to play with some special, special people. Everyone is still close today. Playing for the #RedSox, it's a family
Pedroia -- 'I have a scar from my shin all the way up to my quad.' #RedSox
Pedroia -- 'It hurts. There's going to be physical pain. Our guys went through that (in 2018), and look what happened. I'm proud of playing through everything that I did.' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:26:42 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 1h Pedroia - 'If I had to do it all over again, there wouldn't even be a question. You do the things you can for your teammates and you play to win. That's sports.' #RedSox
Pedroia on 2017 -- 'Your mind takes over. That was some of the worst pain.'
Said he tore a thumb ligament on Opening Day in 2013 and played through it, and 'that was like a massage compared to this one.' #RedSox
Pedroia said his August 2006 callup followed a five-game sweep against the Yankees. He found a grim visiting clubhouse in Anaheim.
'I was just happy and I learned, 'Hey, I can play here.'' #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Feb 1, 2021 15:27:29 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 1h Pedroia -- 'I played every game like it was my last one. I had the best time playing and meeting everyone. I have friends everywhere because of baseball, and I'm proud of that.' #RedSox
Pedroia -- 'I couldn't do much in my everyday life. And that was frustrating.'
'I couldn't move. I couldn't walk. It was too much.'
'I think the first part for me was to function. To move. My kids' bedrooms are upstairs -- I couldn't walk up the stairs.' #RedSox
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