Is "The Laser Show" about to end or a new chapter will be written?
Jorge Camargo
Contributing Writer
The 2014 season ended earlier for the second baseman due to a season-ending surgery. Pedroia had been dealing with a left hand injury since April 4 during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, but injury issues began since Opening Day of 2013. For what it's worth, he ended that season batting .301, with a 7th place in the MPV voting and a Golden Glove. Stating this, it's fair to ask if Dustin Pedroia is starting to slow down in his "The Laser Show" gimmick.
Let's go to the numbers.
Defensively, there's no one better than Pedroia:
► .997 career fielding percentage.
► Averages 4.8 errors per season.
► He has not played in less than 135 games per season.
► Four Gold Gloves at second base, most for any infielder in Red Sox history. (2008, 2011, 2013, 2014)
► Third place in career leader in fielding percentage as a second baseman, with .9917. The first place is Placido Polanco with 16 years in the Big Leagues and .9927 and the second place is José Oquendo with 12 years in the Big Leagues and .9919.
Offensively, he's solid:
► .299 career BA.
► 106 homeruns.
► .444 career slugging percentage.
► .366 career on-base percentage.
► In 162 steal attempts, he has been caught only 37 times.
And finally, let's take a glance at his 2014 season, perhaps his strangest season yet.
► From April to July, he averaged 26 games per month with a BA of .275 and 28 hits per month. The funny thing is that during August (his last full month), he played during 26 games with a BA of .297 with 33 hits, his best month of the season. His injury came at its worst during September, where he only played for 4 games.
So, what conclusions can we get from all of this?
Pedroia is still one of the best (if not THE best) second baseman of the League. His age might be an issue during the future, but if we look closely at his style of play and numbers during the last three years, if he remains healthy nothing will stop him. He played a whole season with an injured left thumb and ended up winning a World Series and a Golden Glove. If this offseason has been healthy, I'm sure he'll be an excellent player during 2015. You can mark my words if you want, because I have the feeling that he's going to be a top 3 MVP finalist.
Finally, here are some tweets that show the confidence of The Laser Show:
How do you think the 2015 season is going to be for Pedroia? Do you have confidence in him? Will he be better than 2014? Post your comments below and let us know!
(Every stat was obtained by baseball-reference.com and baseballamerica.com)
Contributing Writer
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| Pedroia is being helped by his teammates after being hit by a Rays payer. August 30, 2014. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) |
Let's go to the numbers.
Defensively, there's no one better than Pedroia:
► .997 career fielding percentage.
► Averages 4.8 errors per season.
► He has not played in less than 135 games per season.
► Four Gold Gloves at second base, most for any infielder in Red Sox history. (2008, 2011, 2013, 2014)
► Third place in career leader in fielding percentage as a second baseman, with .9917. The first place is Placido Polanco with 16 years in the Big Leagues and .9927 and the second place is José Oquendo with 12 years in the Big Leagues and .9919.
Offensively, he's solid:
► .299 career BA.
► 106 homeruns.
► .444 career slugging percentage.
► .366 career on-base percentage.
► In 162 steal attempts, he has been caught only 37 times.
And finally, let's take a glance at his 2014 season, perhaps his strangest season yet.
► From April to July, he averaged 26 games per month with a BA of .275 and 28 hits per month. The funny thing is that during August (his last full month), he played during 26 games with a BA of .297 with 33 hits, his best month of the season. His injury came at its worst during September, where he only played for 4 games.
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| (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) |
So, what conclusions can we get from all of this?
Pedroia is still one of the best (if not THE best) second baseman of the League. His age might be an issue during the future, but if we look closely at his style of play and numbers during the last three years, if he remains healthy nothing will stop him. He played a whole season with an injured left thumb and ended up winning a World Series and a Golden Glove. If this offseason has been healthy, I'm sure he'll be an excellent player during 2015. You can mark my words if you want, because I have the feeling that he's going to be a top 3 MVP finalist.
Finally, here are some tweets that show the confidence of The Laser Show:
Dustin Pedroia recently told #RedSox GM Ben Cherington he would hit .480 next season. Confidence never an issue for @15Lasershow
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) November 11, 2014
Asked Pedroia if he's hitting yet. "I'm shocked the balls I've been hitting haven't hit your laptop from AZ" http://t.co/gm4GbNpvOi #RedSox
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) January 21, 2015
Dustin Pedroia: "I'm back."
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) January 24, 2015
Pedroia: "I plan on playing 162."
— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) January 24, 2015
How do you think the 2015 season is going to be for Pedroia? Do you have confidence in him? Will he be better than 2014? Post your comments below and let us know!
(Every stat was obtained by baseball-reference.com and baseballamerica.com)
