MVN Awards: AL MVP - Dustin Pedroia

November 14, 2008

MVN Awards: AL MVP - Dustin Pedroia

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By Ryan Armbrust

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Boston's Dustin Pedroia, MVN's selection as the 2008 AL MVP. / photo by eürodäna (flickr)

As late as September 1st, the MVP race in the American League was a muddled mess. Josh Hamilton, Joe Mauer, Milton Bradley, Carlos Quentin and Grady Sizemore were all viable candidates. Then Quentin, the presumed leader, broke his hand on a bat.

Within a few days, an overlooked candidate would emerge. Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox.

Pedroia was the glue that held Boston together, according to the fans and players. The short second-baseman never took a play off, and hustled his way to a few extra bases and runs. His defense was superb. His bat was formidable. His weaknesses weren't apparent. Pedroia didn't do any one thing historically well, he just did many things very well.

Pedroia finished the season with sneaky good numbers:

His .326 batting average was second in the AL, two points behind leader Mauer.
He tied Ichiro for the most hits with 213.
He scored the most runs in the league.
He also led the junior circuit in doubles with 53.
He hit 17 homers from the second base position while earning a Gold Glove on defense.
He stole 20 bases, and was caught just once -- the best percentage in the majors.
He walked 50 times, and only struck out 52 times -- second best in MLB.
His 123 runs created were third in the league, just eight behind the leader.
He was remarkably consistent. Only twice did he go more than two games without a hit, and only once did he even go more than one game without getting on base.

In short, Pedroia was the league's best all-around player, and a major contributer on a playoff team. He saved his best for last, putting together a wonderful second part of the season; from June 14th to the end of the year, the last 89 games, Pedroia hit .375 with a .422 on-base and a .588 slugging mark.

In the August 31st game against the White Sox, just before Quentin ended his own season and MVP campaign, Pedroia started earning his own MVP buzz -- from Ozzie Guillen, of all people.

According to Rex Sox writer Ron Chimelis,

If any doubt remained about Pedroia's MVP credentials, Sunday's ninth inning should have erased them. Oddly, this proof came not by virtue of a big hit, but by how the White Sox approached pitching to the two batters in the heart of the Boston lineup, just before Pedroia's flyout ended the game.

Rather than intentionally walking Ortiz, who represented the tying run, they were willing to risk pitching to the mighty Big Papi, in an effort to avoid facing Pedroia at all.

"I do not want to see that kid (Pedroia) up as the go-ahead run," Guillen said. "The last person you want to see is him."

In a season where many of the top contenders have similarly good -- but not great -- numbers, no one player stands head and shoulders above the rest in the American League.

Perhaps it's time to award the MVP to a player who was simply very good at everything he did at the plate and in the field. A player who was critical to his team's success in reaching postseason play. A player who, although not the biggest guy on any field, played his guts out on every play.

With that, I award MVN's American League MVP honor to Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Carlos Quentin, Dustin Pedroia, Grady Sizemore, Joe Mauer, Milton Bradley, MLB, MVP