BOSTON -- Just call him Mr. November. Or better yet, refer to Dustin Pedroia as the Most Valuable Player of the American League.
The second baseman of the Boston Red Sox continued his rapid burst into the national spotlight on Tuesday, when he was recognized with that impressive honor.
Though most pundits expected the race for MVP to be agonizingly close, Pedroia won in comfortable fashion, garnering 16 of 28 first-place votes. He also received six second-place votes, four third-place votes and one fourth-place vote for 317 total points. And Pedroia was surprisingly even left off one ballot.
Runner-up Justin Morneau of the Twins received seven first-place votes and finished with 257 points. Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis finished third, tallying two first-place votes and 201 points.
"I really didn't know what to expect," said Pedroia, who was on his way to work out when he found out about winning the award. "I was just excited to be named with all those players. There's a ton of great players. When you hear your name come up in that category, you definitely get excited and nervous. I wasn't nervous or overly excited. For me, just to be in that category is an extreme honor."
Following a 2007 season in which Pedroia helped fuel the Red Sox to a World Series championship and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, the right-handed hitting machine staged quite an encore.
"It's unbelievable," said Pedroia. "When I first got called up to the Major Leagues in 2006, I really didn't know what to expect. I really didn't set any expectations or goals on myself. My biggest thing was, if I'm in the lineup that day, I'm going to play as hard as I can and try to help our team. That's been my mentality ever since I got called up to the big leagues. That's how I'm going to be successful. I have to keep that mind-set every season. This year, I was very successful. Hopefully, I can continue that."
Pedroia joins Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in consecutive years. He is the first second baseman to win the AL MVP since Nellie Fox of the White Sox in 1959.
"We're enormously proud of Dustin and Youk, and we're glad they were recognized by the voters today," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein wrote in an e-mail. "Both players were signed by this organization, both learned in our farm system, and now both are models for how we want Red Sox players to approach the game."
The club also released a statement congratulating both Pedroia and Youkilis.
"The Boston Red Sox congratulate Dustin Pedroia on winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award in just his sophomore season in the Major Leagues," the statement read. "It is a well-deserved honor, and we are delighted that his outstanding season has been recognized in this way. The .326 batting average, 213 hits, 118 runs, 54 doubles, 17 home runs, 20 stolen bases do not tell the whole story of how valuable Dustin was to the team in 2008. He also played gritty Gold Glove defense, and served as the igniting spark plug in our clubhouse all year.
"We would also like to congratulate Kevin Youkilis on his third-place finish in the MVP voting. Truly, both Dustin and Kevin played integral roles in our 2008 season. Finally, we take great pride in the fact that both Dustin and Kevin were drafted and developed by the Red Sox. It is a great tribute to our baseball operations, scouting and player development staff."
For his performance in 2008, Pedroia received a Gold Glove Award, a spot on the American League's Silver Slugger team and now the MVP.
By prevailing in the Baseball Writers' Association of America voting, Pedroia became the 10th Red Sox MVP winner and the first to cart home the coveted award since Mo Vaughn in 1995. The previous winners from Boston were Jimmie Foxx ('38), Ted Williams ('46 and '49), Jackie Jensen ('58), Carl Yastrzemski ('67), Fred Lynn ('75), Jim Rice ('78) and Roger Clemens ('86).
<STYLE>table#mvp_vote td {text-align:right;padding:1px 4px 1px 1px;border-left:1px solid #ccc;}table#mvp_vote td.left {text-align:left;border:0;}</STYLE><TABLE class=floatRight id=mvp_vote cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class="left greyDark" align=middle colSpan=12>2008 AL MVP Award Voting</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Player, Club</TD><TD>1st</TD><TD>2nd</TD><TD>3rd</TD><TD>4th</TD><TD>5th</TD><TD>6th</TD><TD>7th</TD><TD>8th</TD><TD>9th</TD><TD>10th</TD><TD>Points</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Dustin Pedroia, BOS</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>317</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Justin Morneau, MIN</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>257</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Kevin Youkilis, BOS</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>201</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Joe Mauer, MIN</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>188</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Carlos Quentin, CWS</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>160</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Francisco Rodriguez, LAA</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>6</TD><TD> </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>143</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Josh Hamilton, TEX</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>112</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Alex Rodriguez, NYY</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>45</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Carlos Pena, TB</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>44</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Grady Sizemore, CLE</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>42</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Evan Longoria, TB</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>38</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Cliff Lee, CLE</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>24</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Miguel Cabrera, DET</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>17</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Vladimir Guerrero, LAA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>16</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Jermaine Dye, CWS</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>14</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Aubrey Huff, BAL</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>12</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Milton Bradley, TEX</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>9</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Jason Bartlett, TB</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>6</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Mike Mussina, NYY</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>3</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Raul Ibanez, SEA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Ian Kinsler, TEX</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Ichiro Suzuki, SEA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Mark Teixeira, LAA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Following Vaughn's victory 13 years ago, three Red Sox players finished second in the voting: shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in 1998, pitcher Pedro Martinez in '99 and designated hitter David Ortiz in 2005.
But unlike Vaughn, one of the most physically imposing figures in club history, Pedroia will go down as one of the slightest.
Officially listed at 5-foot-9 in the Boston media guide, Pedroia is probably two or three inches shorter than that.
After a grand slam at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 27, a revved-up Pedroia informed his teammates that he was "the strongest 165-pound man in baseball."
It was that type of infectious enthusiasm that earned Pedroia the rare ability to be considered a team leader at the age of 25.
"Obviously I'm motivated," said Pedroia. "I'm not the biggest guy in the world. I don't have that many tools. If you look at me and I'm walking down the street, you wouldn't think I'm a baseball player. I think that's the biggest thing that motivates me to be a good player. I've had to deal with that my whole life. I think that's what's always in my mind, is that I have to overcome everything to prove people wrong. So far I've done that."
But as much as Pedroia said in the clubhouse and dugout, his bat spoke the loudest.
With 213 hits, Pedroia tied Ichiro Suzuki for the Major League lead. His 54 doubles led the Majors. He led the AL in runs (118) and multihit games (61).
Backed by a .326 average, Pedroia lost the batting title by just four points to Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer. Pedroia finished fourth in total bases (322) and seventh in extra-base hits (73).
An elite tablesetter, Pedroia also chipped in with power (17 homers, 83 RBIs) and speed (20 stolen bases).
From a team standpoint, Pedroia and the Red Sox fell just one win shy of getting back to the World Series after a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to the Rays in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.
Considering the obstacles the Red Sox faced (Ortiz missed seven weeks with a left wrist injury, Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew missed considerable time, Jason Varitek had a sharp decline at the plate), it's doubtful they could have gotten to the postseason without the performances of Pedroia and Youkilis.
Before Pedroia's final red-hot surge of late August and early September, Youkilis was the Boston player getting a lot of mention in MVP discussions.
"Youk had an unbelievable season," said Pedroia. "He's as deserving as anybody. I get firsthand to see him every single day and how much he helps our team. He had an incredible year. ... I already talked to Youk today. He's excited. He can't wait to get out to Arizona and start working out."
And the first baseman, who also played third base when Lowell was injured, had a big year in his own right. Youkilis established career highs in batting average (.312), home runs (29), RBIs (115) and slugging percentage (.569). As for Pedroia, he became the fifth second baseman in Major League history to have 200 hits, 50 doubles, 100 runs and 15 homers in the same season, joining Charlie Gehringer (1936), Craig Biggio ('98), Jose Vidro (2000) and Alfonso Soriano ('02). <!--sphereit end-->
The second baseman of the Boston Red Sox continued his rapid burst into the national spotlight on Tuesday, when he was recognized with that impressive honor.
Though most pundits expected the race for MVP to be agonizingly close, Pedroia won in comfortable fashion, garnering 16 of 28 first-place votes. He also received six second-place votes, four third-place votes and one fourth-place vote for 317 total points. And Pedroia was surprisingly even left off one ballot.
Runner-up Justin Morneau of the Twins received seven first-place votes and finished with 257 points. Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis finished third, tallying two first-place votes and 201 points.
"I really didn't know what to expect," said Pedroia, who was on his way to work out when he found out about winning the award. "I was just excited to be named with all those players. There's a ton of great players. When you hear your name come up in that category, you definitely get excited and nervous. I wasn't nervous or overly excited. For me, just to be in that category is an extreme honor."
Following a 2007 season in which Pedroia helped fuel the Red Sox to a World Series championship and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, the right-handed hitting machine staged quite an encore.
"It's unbelievable," said Pedroia. "When I first got called up to the Major Leagues in 2006, I really didn't know what to expect. I really didn't set any expectations or goals on myself. My biggest thing was, if I'm in the lineup that day, I'm going to play as hard as I can and try to help our team. That's been my mentality ever since I got called up to the big leagues. That's how I'm going to be successful. I have to keep that mind-set every season. This year, I was very successful. Hopefully, I can continue that."
Pedroia joins Cal Ripken Jr. and Ryan Howard as the only players to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in consecutive years. He is the first second baseman to win the AL MVP since Nellie Fox of the White Sox in 1959.
"We're enormously proud of Dustin and Youk, and we're glad they were recognized by the voters today," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein wrote in an e-mail. "Both players were signed by this organization, both learned in our farm system, and now both are models for how we want Red Sox players to approach the game."
The club also released a statement congratulating both Pedroia and Youkilis.
"The Boston Red Sox congratulate Dustin Pedroia on winning the American League Most Valuable Player Award in just his sophomore season in the Major Leagues," the statement read. "It is a well-deserved honor, and we are delighted that his outstanding season has been recognized in this way. The .326 batting average, 213 hits, 118 runs, 54 doubles, 17 home runs, 20 stolen bases do not tell the whole story of how valuable Dustin was to the team in 2008. He also played gritty Gold Glove defense, and served as the igniting spark plug in our clubhouse all year.
"We would also like to congratulate Kevin Youkilis on his third-place finish in the MVP voting. Truly, both Dustin and Kevin played integral roles in our 2008 season. Finally, we take great pride in the fact that both Dustin and Kevin were drafted and developed by the Red Sox. It is a great tribute to our baseball operations, scouting and player development staff."
For his performance in 2008, Pedroia received a Gold Glove Award, a spot on the American League's Silver Slugger team and now the MVP.
By prevailing in the Baseball Writers' Association of America voting, Pedroia became the 10th Red Sox MVP winner and the first to cart home the coveted award since Mo Vaughn in 1995. The previous winners from Boston were Jimmie Foxx ('38), Ted Williams ('46 and '49), Jackie Jensen ('58), Carl Yastrzemski ('67), Fred Lynn ('75), Jim Rice ('78) and Roger Clemens ('86).
<STYLE>table#mvp_vote td {text-align:right;padding:1px 4px 1px 1px;border-left:1px solid #ccc;}table#mvp_vote td.left {text-align:left;border:0;}</STYLE><TABLE class=floatRight id=mvp_vote cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD class="left greyDark" align=middle colSpan=12>2008 AL MVP Award Voting</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Player, Club</TD><TD>1st</TD><TD>2nd</TD><TD>3rd</TD><TD>4th</TD><TD>5th</TD><TD>6th</TD><TD>7th</TD><TD>8th</TD><TD>9th</TD><TD>10th</TD><TD>Points</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Dustin Pedroia, BOS</TD><TD>16</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>317</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Justin Morneau, MIN</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>257</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Kevin Youkilis, BOS</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>201</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Joe Mauer, MIN</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>188</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Carlos Quentin, CWS</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>4</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>160</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Francisco Rodriguez, LAA</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>6</TD><TD> </TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>143</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Josh Hamilton, TEX</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>112</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Alex Rodriguez, NYY</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>45</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Carlos Pena, TB</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>44</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Grady Sizemore, CLE</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>42</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Evan Longoria, TB</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>38</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Cliff Lee, CLE</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>24</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Miguel Cabrera, DET</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD>17</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Vladimir Guerrero, LAA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD>16</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Jermaine Dye, CWS</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>14</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Aubrey Huff, BAL</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>2</TD><TD>3</TD><TD>12</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Milton Bradley, TEX</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>9</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Jason Bartlett, TB</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>6</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Mike Mussina, NYY</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>3</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Raul Ibanez, SEA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Ian Kinsler, TEX</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e9e9e9><TD class=left>Ichiro Suzuki, SEA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=left>Mark Teixeira, LAA</TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD> </TD><TD>1</TD><TD>1</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Following Vaughn's victory 13 years ago, three Red Sox players finished second in the voting: shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in 1998, pitcher Pedro Martinez in '99 and designated hitter David Ortiz in 2005.
But unlike Vaughn, one of the most physically imposing figures in club history, Pedroia will go down as one of the slightest.
Officially listed at 5-foot-9 in the Boston media guide, Pedroia is probably two or three inches shorter than that.
After a grand slam at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 27, a revved-up Pedroia informed his teammates that he was "the strongest 165-pound man in baseball."
It was that type of infectious enthusiasm that earned Pedroia the rare ability to be considered a team leader at the age of 25.
"Obviously I'm motivated," said Pedroia. "I'm not the biggest guy in the world. I don't have that many tools. If you look at me and I'm walking down the street, you wouldn't think I'm a baseball player. I think that's the biggest thing that motivates me to be a good player. I've had to deal with that my whole life. I think that's what's always in my mind, is that I have to overcome everything to prove people wrong. So far I've done that."
But as much as Pedroia said in the clubhouse and dugout, his bat spoke the loudest.
With 213 hits, Pedroia tied Ichiro Suzuki for the Major League lead. His 54 doubles led the Majors. He led the AL in runs (118) and multihit games (61).
Backed by a .326 average, Pedroia lost the batting title by just four points to Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer. Pedroia finished fourth in total bases (322) and seventh in extra-base hits (73).
An elite tablesetter, Pedroia also chipped in with power (17 homers, 83 RBIs) and speed (20 stolen bases).
From a team standpoint, Pedroia and the Red Sox fell just one win shy of getting back to the World Series after a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to the Rays in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.
Considering the obstacles the Red Sox faced (Ortiz missed seven weeks with a left wrist injury, Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew missed considerable time, Jason Varitek had a sharp decline at the plate), it's doubtful they could have gotten to the postseason without the performances of Pedroia and Youkilis.
Before Pedroia's final red-hot surge of late August and early September, Youkilis was the Boston player getting a lot of mention in MVP discussions.
"Youk had an unbelievable season," said Pedroia. "He's as deserving as anybody. I get firsthand to see him every single day and how much he helps our team. He had an incredible year. ... I already talked to Youk today. He's excited. He can't wait to get out to Arizona and start working out."
And the first baseman, who also played third base when Lowell was injured, had a big year in his own right. Youkilis established career highs in batting average (.312), home runs (29), RBIs (115) and slugging percentage (.569). As for Pedroia, he became the fifth second baseman in Major League history to have 200 hits, 50 doubles, 100 runs and 15 homers in the same season, joining Charlie Gehringer (1936), Craig Biggio ('98), Jose Vidro (2000) and Alfonso Soriano ('02). <!--sphereit end-->
