Second base of the Red Sox and ex-MVP of the American League Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement from baseball on Monday. The 37-year-old was still under contract for the 2021 season, but has managed to play only nine games in the past three seasons due to a series of devastating knee injuries that required several surgeries. Notably, Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal tweets that Pedroia will still receive his $ 12 million salary next season, and his average annual value of $ 13.3 million will feature the Red Sox luxury tax.
“Dustin is much more than his American League Most Valuable Player award, his All-Star Game selections and the Golden Gloves he has accumulated over his impressive 17-year career in our organization,” said the owner of Red Sox, John Henry, in a press release announcing the change. “Dustin came to represent the kind of courage, passion and competitive motivation that resonates with baseball fans everywhere, especially Red Sox fans. He played the game he loves in the service of our club, its principles and in search of championships. Above all, we are forever grateful to him for what he brought to our club and our region as an important model, showing all of us how much can be accomplished with determination and hard work ”.
Pedroia was chosen in the Arizona State runoff during the same 2004 season, in which the Red Sox broke the Bambino Curse with their first World Series victory in 86 years. They could not have known that at the time, but that 2004 draft would have a fundamental role to further distance themselves from the so-called “curse”, since Pedroia was a key part in the engine of two more winning lineups in the World Series.
Almost two years after signing, Pedroia made his major league debut in August 2006. His initial 31-game cup of coffee produced mediocre results, but Pedroia quickly left a lackluster debut behind when he hit .317 / .380 / .442 en en route to an unbridled victory in the LA rookie of the year vote. Pedroia had a slow start in the postseason that year, but gained strength in ALCS and played important roles in the last two postseason rounds.
Pedroia overcame that wonderful debut season just a year later, when he was named MVP of the American League. In just his second season in the big league, Pedroia posted an excellent .326 / .376 / .493 cut with 17 home runs, an MLB leader 54 doubles and 20 stolen bases. Pedroia also led the Majors with 213 hits that season, and his 118 races marked the pace of the American League. He also took home the first of four Golden Gloves of his career and made the first of four All-Star Games during that brilliant season.
From 2007 to 17, Pedroia was simply one of the best players in Major League Baseball. During that time, he set up a compound cut .302 / .368 / .442 with 138 home runs and steals each, while playing high-quality defense for an almost perennial contender.
Unfortunately for Pedroia, the Red Sox and his fans, he was hampered by problems with his left knee throughout his 2017 season and, after three trips to the injured list, finally underwent a cartilage restoration procedure. He returned in 2018 after missing the start of the season, but problems with his surgically repaired knee shelved him again after just three games. Pedroia did not play again in 2018 and was limited to six games the following year due to constant setbacks. He underwent a “joint preservation” operation on that knee and did not appear the following year, in 2020.
More to come.