The minivan emblazoned with Red Sox stickers blasted through the intersection, cutting me off and nearly sideswiping a motorcycle in the process. I was about to flash the driver half the peace sign when I saw something on his bumper that instantly turned my frown upside down:
"Pedroia the Destroyah."
It's the first time I'd encountered that particular bumper sticker in Dustin Pedroia's brief tenure as the Red Sox regular second baseman, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing it more in the future—because the man Sox pitcher Josh Beckett calls "the best 105-pound baseball player ever" is on a tear the likes of which we have rarely seen from a second sacker in a Boston uniform.
"I'm not sure how to explain it," Pedroia said to a throng of reporters after almost singlehandedly dismantling the Baltimore Orioles in a game last week. "I'm just doing my best to make contract and drive the ball."
Some athletes would use the term "in the zone" to describe the streak Pedroia's on, but I'm not even sure that would be an accurate description. The season this guy is having is almost other-worldly, and if it continues, Pedroia may just wind up adding the American League MVP to his growing list of accolades.
Just look at the numbers the guy is putting up. According to stats compiled recently by the Boston Herald, as I'm writing this, Pedroia leads the league in average (.333), hits (191) and runs scored (110), and is a close second for the most doubles this season (44). The only offensive category where Pedroia falls somewhat short is in home runs, where he only has 17—which happens to be the same number Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has at this point in the season. Pedroia started the year hitting in the number two slot, and then did a brief stint at leadoff before moving to the cleanup spot that had most recently been occupied by Manny Ramirez.
But offense is only half the story. Pedroia has been slinging some serious leather this season, anchoring what is currently the fifth best defense in the league. He's also been a consistent, stabilizing influence in a season that has seen the departure of Ramirez via trade, and injuries to everyday players—Ortiz, third baseman Mike Lowell and shortstop Julio Lugo, among others.
And all this from a player Red Sox fans were ready to lynch because of his slow start last season, and who had repeatedly been told he'd never be good enough even to make it to the majors, much less be named Rookie of the Year, All-Star, and now, possibly, a league MVP—although there are indications that attaining that honor may be something of an uphill battle. No second baseman has won the MVP since 1959, when the White Sox' Nellie Fox took the honor, which, by the way, he did with numbers that don't come close to what Pedroia has this year.
Typically, the American League nod goes to a slugger, which isn't all that surprising given the league's emphasis on offense. That's unfortunate, because a most valuable player is someone who has done the most to help his team win in every facet of the game—and it would be hard to argue that, at this point in the season, there is a more deserving candidate based on that criterion than the "Destroyah."
"Hopefully he wins it," pal Beckett told the Herald's Michael Silverman recently. "He plays bigger than he is& you can put him up, pound for pound, against anybody in the league."
But even if he doesn't take home the hardware, Pedroia has already begun to cement his legacy in the minds and hearts of his most important constituency, the fans of Boston, who clearly seem down with the cliche that the best things in life—and sports—sometimes do come in small packages.
