More hardware for Dusty as the Destroia nabs AL MVP
Adding to an impressive offseason that has already seen him win both Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards, Dustin Pedroia can now also call himself the Most Valuable Player in the American League. Youk finished third in voting, while the Twins' Justin Morneau - who won the MVP back in 2006 - came in second. Pedroia received 16 first place votes, more than double the amount received by Morneau (7). Dusty's the first AL second basemen to win the award in nearly 50 years, and he's also the first Red Sox second basemen to ever take home MVP honors.
Say what you will about whether Dusty merits the award based on his numbers alone, but if you go by the belief that the potential MVP has to have been the player to have had the greatest impact on a winning team, then it's tough to argue that Dusty's not deserving. In a very much up-and-down season (both in terms of on-the-field-performance and clubhouse distractions), Dusty was a rock at second base, as well as atop the batting order (and lest you forget, the little man even batted cleanup a handful of times). He led the AL in hits, runs and doubles, and was arguably the biggest reason the Sox stayed in the playoff hunt and secured the AL wild card. And don't forget about the ridiculous number of multi-hit games (61) he had to lead the AL this season. Chad Finn at the Globe also figured out that Dusty's only the third second baseman in major league history to rack up 100 runs, 200 hits, 50 doubles, and 20 steals in a season.
I could type on and on about how great a year he had, but his season line might do it a bit more justice:
.326/.376/.493, 118 R, 213 H, 54 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 50 BB, 20 SB
So Dusty wins Rookie of the Year last year in his first full season and goes on to follow it up with his first All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and MVP awards in just his second season in the bigs? Talk about an encore. What's this guy planning for his third season? A triple crown? That's probably a little out of Pedey's reach, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him keep up something close to this current level of production, and if you ask the Sox front office, they'd be more than happy with that.
If you haven't heard by now, some clown that writes in Texas left Dusty off his ballot entirely. I'll be the first to admit that The Big Show, and just about every other WEEI production these days, is pretty weak at times, but this exchange with Evan Grant (i.e. the deuche that voted for Joe Mauer over Pedey) is absolutely hilarious. Check it out.
Say what you will about whether Dusty merits the award based on his numbers alone, but if you go by the belief that the potential MVP has to have been the player to have had the greatest impact on a winning team, then it's tough to argue that Dusty's not deserving. In a very much up-and-down season (both in terms of on-the-field-performance and clubhouse distractions), Dusty was a rock at second base, as well as atop the batting order (and lest you forget, the little man even batted cleanup a handful of times). He led the AL in hits, runs and doubles, and was arguably the biggest reason the Sox stayed in the playoff hunt and secured the AL wild card. And don't forget about the ridiculous number of multi-hit games (61) he had to lead the AL this season. Chad Finn at the Globe also figured out that Dusty's only the third second baseman in major league history to rack up 100 runs, 200 hits, 50 doubles, and 20 steals in a season.
I could type on and on about how great a year he had, but his season line might do it a bit more justice:
.326/.376/.493, 118 R, 213 H, 54 2B, 2 3B, 17 HR, 83 RBI, 50 BB, 20 SB
So Dusty wins Rookie of the Year last year in his first full season and goes on to follow it up with his first All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger, Gold Glove and MVP awards in just his second season in the bigs? Talk about an encore. What's this guy planning for his third season? A triple crown? That's probably a little out of Pedey's reach, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him keep up something close to this current level of production, and if you ask the Sox front office, they'd be more than happy with that.
If you haven't heard by now, some clown that writes in Texas left Dusty off his ballot entirely. I'll be the first to admit that The Big Show, and just about every other WEEI production these days, is pretty weak at times, but this exchange with Evan Grant (i.e. the deuche that voted for Joe Mauer over Pedey) is absolutely hilarious. Check it out.
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