Dustin Pedroia: Mr. Dependable

Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer

Dustin Pedroia may just be the epitome of who the Red Sox are. It may not always be perfect or pretty, but they get the job done. And they both certainly exemplified that during Friday’s 3-2 extra innings win over the Minnesota Twins.

Pedroia has been getting criticism for not being a power hitter so far this season, as he has only one home run and 11 extra-base hits. But Pedroia has been something more important: a consistent hitter. He’s been the guy who the power hitters have been failing to bring in lately.

AP Photo/Jim Mone

Pedey leads the team in hits (55), runs (27), walks (25), and on base percentage (.423). He has the second highest batting average, just behind David Ortiz, at .335. He even has the second most stolen bases even though he’s arguably one of the slower players on the team. So if you’re just looking at how many home runs he has, and you’re saying he’s bringing nothing to the table, take a look at those other numbers.

Pedroia is the poster child for dependability for the Red Sox. Last night wasn’t looking very good for him, until the tenth inning came around. He was 0-for-4 and had grounded into two doubles plays and popped out with two men on base. But he has the stick-to-it mentality that the Sox are famous for. He led off the top of tenth with a hard single to right field and scored what would be the game-winning run off of Jonny Gomes’s sacrifice fly.

After last night, he now has hits in 38 or the Sox’s 42 games. So if you’re going to blame anyone for a lack of scoring on the Sox lately, blame any of the guys after Pedroia in the order. There’s nothing wrong with Pedey being the guy who gets brought around as long as the team is scoring. Plus, I’m sure he’ll find his power at some point in the season. So just sit back, relax, and wait for the laser show.




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