The (tied for) first-place Boston Red Sox have had a lot of
reasons for their success so far this season. The headlines have been dominated
by their young breakout stars (Mookie Betts,
Xander
Bogaerts and Jackie
Bradley Jr.), and the swan song of their venerable veteran, David Ortiz.
Lost in all that positivity has been the reemergence of second baseman Dustin
Pedroia, who is quietly putting together another of his signature seasons after
seeing his production dip in recent years.
The 32 (soon to be 33)-year-old Pedroia is now in his 11th
year in a Boston uniform. The former American League Rookie of the Year and MVP
has always been a solid producer for the team but injuries contributed to
declining numbers in 2014 and 2015. Now more than a third of the way through
the 2016 season, Pedey appears to have found his groove again, as he has been
the quiet anchor of the lineup.
Health has been a key in 2016 for Pedroia. After missing a
combined 96 games over the past two years he has played in 62 of a possible 64
games this season. He has contributed a .317 batting average, seven home runs
and 27 RBIs. He also has 82 hits, 19 doubles and 45 runs scored, putting him on
pace for a truly impressive stat line at by season’s end. His 126 OPS+ is
currently the third-best mark of his career, and highest since the 2011 season,
when he finished ninth in MVP voting.
Previously good for about 20 stolen bases a year, Pedroia
doesn’t run much anymore. He has four steals this year but was never blazing
fast to begin with. Being more cautious on the base paths has been a good way
to keep him out of injury-risk situations that he seems to frequently find
because of his all-out playing style.
FanGraphs
reflects other ways that Pedroia has been able to reinvent himself and bring
about his renewed success. He has always sprayed the ball to all fields during
his career but there seems to be more of a concentrated effort to go the
opposite way this year. The percentage of balls (38.6) he has put in play to
the right side is by far a career high. He is also making a little better
contact overall, connecting with 94 percent of all pitches he has offered at
that were within the strike zone; his best mark since 2010.
Pedroia’s resurgence has not been limited to just at the
plate. Always a strong defender, he has shown no signs of slowing down in the
field despite having reached an age often associated with eroding skills. He
has regained his status as an all-around star for the team, yet has ironically
seems to have been lost a bit in the shuffle given the many stellar
performances happening in Boston’s lineup.
The seven-year, $100 million contract
extension the second baseman signed in 2014 and started in 2015 had started
looking like a possible financial burden if his numbers continued to slip.
However, even with his inevitable decline sometime in the coming years, it
looks like there is still plenty of meat on the bone for the team to get some
excellent production out of their stalwart star. Pedroia has shown that if
healthy he still has the game, and the Red Sox and their fans should sit back
and continue to enjoy the wonder that is the Laser Show.
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