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Red Sox second baseman and former American League MVP Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement from baseball on Monday. The 37-year-old was still under contract for the 2021 season, but had managed to play in just nine games over the past three seasons due to a series of devastating knee injuries that required multiple surgeries. Notably, Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal tweets that Pedroia will still receive his salary of $ 12 million in the next season, and his average annual value of $ 13.3 million will be charged against the luxury tax for the Red Sox.
“Dustin is so much more than his American League MVP award, all-star selections and the gold gloves he has amassed throughout his impressive 17 years with our organization.” Red Sox owner John Henry said in a press release. announcing the move. “Dustin has come to represent the kind of courage, passion and competitive drive that resonates with baseball fans everywhere and especially with Red Sox fans. He played the game he loves in the service of our club, its principles and in the pursuit of championships. Above all, we are eternally grateful to him for what he has brought to our club and to our region as an important role model who shows us all what can be accomplished with determination and hard work.
Pedroia was a second-round pick for Arizona state in the same 2004 season in which the Red Sox broke the Bambino’s curse with their first World Series victory in 86 years. They couldn’t have known it at the time, but this 2004 draft would play a pivotal role in further distancing itself from that “curse,” as Pedroia was a key cog in the engine of two other World Series winning rosters.
Barely two years after being signed, Pedroia made his big league debut in August 2006. His first 31-game cup of coffee produced mediocre results, but Pedroia quickly put a lackluster start behind him when he struck. .317 / .380 / .442 en road to a meteoric victory in the AL Rookie of the Year vote. Pedroia had a slow start to the playoffs that year, but he gained momentum in the ALCS and played a key role in the final two rounds of the playoffs.
Pedroia passed that wonderful rookie season a year later when he was named the American League MVP. In just his second league season, Pedroia posted an excellent .326 / .376 / .493 slash with 17 homers, 54 MLB-leading doubles and 20 stolen goals. Pedroia has also led the Majors with 213 hits this season, and his 118 runs scored have set the pace for the American League. He also won the first of four career Golden Gloves and appeared in the first of four All-Star games this brilliant season.
From 2007 to 17, Pedroia was quite simply one of Major League Baseball’s best all-around players. Meanwhile, he’s put together a .302 / .368 / .442 composite slash with 138 home runs and steals each, all while playing high-quality defense for a near-perennial contender.
Unfortunately for Pedroia, the Red Sox and their fans, he was hampered by left knee issues throughout his 2017 season, and after three trips to the injured list, he finally underwent a cartilage restoration procedure. He returned in 2018 after missing the start of the season, but problems in his surgically repaired knee sidelined him again after just three games. Pedroia was no longer playing in 2018 and he was limited to six games the following year due to continued setbacks. He underwent “joint preservation” surgery on that knee and did not present at all the following year in 2020.
More soon.
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