There’s been no shortage of Boston Red Sox storylines through the first five months of the 2016 season.
Players such as David Ortiz, Mookie Betts, David Price, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Steven Wright continue to dominate the headlines — for good and bad reasons, though mostly good, as the Red Sox currently sit one game out of first place in the American League East.
But we’re going to use this small place on the World Wide Web to talk about one of the club’s more overlooked players: second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
It’s hard to imagine that Pedroia — considered by many as a “heart and soul”-type of player — might go overlooked, height jokes aside. But really, on the list of Red Sox talking points, he’s pretty far down the list.
Wednesday marks Pedroia’s 33rd birthday, though he looks like he has turned back the clock a few years. He’s finally healthy, and his play is on the level that Red Sox fans came to expect earlier in his career.
The birthday boy enters play Wednesday with a .307 batting average, which would be his highest mark since 2011, when he also hit .307. His 12 home runs already are the most he has hit since 2012. He’s on pace for roughly 40 doubles, a mark he hasn’t reached since 2013. His .823 OPS? He hasn’t got on base and slugged at that clip since 2011.
We could go on, but you get the point.
Pedroia also continues to be the perfect table-setter in a Red Sox offense that’s arguably the best in baseball. He’s getting on base and presenting opportunities for the aforementioned sluggers to drive him in, on pace for his first 100-run season since 2011.
And oh, yeah, there’s also the defense.
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Pedroia ranks 16th in all of baseball in defensive runs saved (DRS), according to FanGraphs, and he’s the No. 1 second baseman in either league. His 9.5 UZR also is first among all second basemen.
And as far as we can tell, Pedroia’s leadership is as strong as ever. That much was obvious earlier this season when he didn’t care that cameras were rolling as he chewed out Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound during the left-hander’s June 27 start. The Red Sox optioned Rodriguez to Pawtucket after the game. Rodriguez eventually returned, and for what it’s worth, he has tossed 39 1/3 innings over seven starts, posting a 2.51 ERA, a far cry from the ugly 8.59 mark he had when sent down to Triple A.
On the field, however, is where Pedroia should continue to make his greatest impact. As long as he stays healthy, there’s no reason to believe he’ll see any sort of drop-off down the stretch. He is, after all, a career .307 hitter in August, September and October regular-season games for his career.
The Red Sox surely will take that, even if he continues to be overshadowed.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
