Boston Sports Then and Now

Dustin Pedroia

Dustin Pedroia has not been in the major leagues long, but he has certainly made a name for himself throughout the first four years of his career. This youngster seemed to come out of  nowhere and fit right in with the powerful Red Sox lineup.

His baseball career began in Woodland, California, where he played high school ball. During his senior year, Pedroia batted .445 and was the league’s MVP.

After high school, Pedroia went to Arizona State University, where he battled Ian Kinsler for the shortstop position. Kinsler eventually transferred to the University of Missouri, allowing Pedroia the opportunity to have shortstop all to himself.

In the three years he spend at Arizona State University, Pedroia never missed a game. In fact, he hit an average of .384. In order to help ASU recruit better pitchers, Pedroia relinquished the last two years of his athletic scholarship.

In 2004, Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox with the 65th pick overall. While he was in the minors, Pedroia started to play second base as well. A couple of years later, he replaced second basemen Mark Loretta.

To start the 2007 season, Pedoria hit a dismal .172 through the first month of play. By the end of the season his average was .317 as he earned the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Pedroia then helped the Red Sox win their second World Series in four years. Read the rest of this entry →

A quick look at the SS situation in 2010…

Who will play at shortstop in 2010?

As we have all witnessed since Theo Epstein took the position of Red Sox GM from Mike Port following the 2002 season, it is safe to say that the shortstop position isn’t the wonder boy’s strong point.

By no means is that a knock against Epstein; he isn’t the one taking grounders in between third and second, and he doesn’t have a bat in his hands four times a night. However, he is in charge of making a judgment and then withdrawing x amount of dollars from John Henry’s bank account.

If and when the Red Sox sign a free agent to become what hopes to be the Opening Day shortstop, that man will have the honor of being called the eighteenth shortstop to wear a Red Sox uniform since the Epstein era began in Boston. Since Nomar Garciaparra departed from Boston in the summer of 2004, no shortstop has started in consecutive Opening Day games for the Red Sox.

Alex Gonzalez was an excellent fit for Boston defensively, making just one error in 44 games for the Sox in 2009. Even his offense was highly respectable as an added bonus when the right-hander hit .284 with 5 HR and 15 RBI.

However, although not the best option, Gonzalez is no longer an option at all to be the Red Sox Opening Day starter in 2010. The Blue Jays, who offered arbitration to their previous shortstop Marco Scutaro on Tuesday, signed Gonzalez to a two-year deal, plucking him from Boston’s long list of potential solutions at the shortstop position.

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