Dustin Pedroia slumped briefly in June, but still ranks among the AL top 10 in games played, plate appearances, runs, hits, doubles and sacrifice hits, and is the seventh-most difficult hitter to strike out in the AL (one strikeout for every 11.2 at bats).
There are a million amusing examples of what it is that makes Dustin Pedroia the little second baseman that could.
The viciously unmerciful swings he employs while attacking fastballs — where the 5-foot-6 right-handed gnat looks like he’s literally going to hop right out of his cleats. The quick, sprawling leaps to his right and left while simultaneously hoovering ground balls and then making the quick snap-throw to first.
But “Pedro” also endears himself to his teammates with a defiant attitude that’s been hatched and painstakingly developed over years of people doubting his abilities and judging the whole book by its undersized cover.
The media hordes get to see glimpses of the scrappy “dugout version” of Pedroia, and the Little Big Man again revealed himself while being questioned about his latest hitting streak.
One inquisitor asked if Pedroia has always been a hitter that’s collected base hits in bunches.
“I get hits all the time,” said Pedroia, with a quick smile at his own sense of baseball bravado. “How’s that for a quote?”
The Sox second sacker might be a little more of a streak hitter than he’s willing to admit, but right now the 24-year-old middle infielder is simply raking line drives all over the field.
Pedroia had watched his batting average drop as low as .261 during a June swoon that left him searching for answers. Pedroia has snapped out of that funk in a big way, though, as he’s collected hits in 11 of his last 12 games and is hitting an out-of-control .519 with three home runs, nine runs and five RBIs over that span.
“He was really getting outside the zone [when he was struggling] and trying to place balls in certain areas rather than just letting his natural talent flow out there,” said Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan. “He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he knew how to fix it. The key is to be able to implement those changes when pitchers are throwing quality strikes against you.”