"Here's our first meeting: He walks in and I'm in this little cubbyhole office that I have in the stadium, and he's just got this plain white cut-off undershirt on," Murphy said of the Red Sox second baseman who was recently awarded the AL Rookie of the Year Award. "He walks by and he's this pale, white kid who is about 5-foot-6 and 130 pounds, and he's this big hullabaloo recruit. People are coming up to me and going, 'This is your big recruit shortstop?'
"Then Pedroia walks by, flexes and says, 'Hey, Murph, check out these guns, man.' The guy has the biceps of a 6-year-old, he has no business wearing a shirt with cut-off sleeves, and I'm getting blinded by the shine from the head of a college freshman that's going bald.
"Then he just proceeded to go out and make every play in the book."
That ability to make every play, and in doing so buck the odds and prove his legion of naysayers completely wrong, made Pedroia a landslide selection over Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Delmon Young for the Rookie of the Year.
At every turn in his young life, people have doubted Pedroia would ever make the big leagues because of his small frame, his average speed and his underwhelming strength. But at each of those turns, he's fended off the criticism and instead thrived on the field.
The diminutive infielder shot through the minor leagues and proved himself to be a solid-fielding, .300-hitting second baseman at each level, but he struggled last year in a late-season call-up and then hit .182 during the month of April this season. The Sox never wavered despite public outcry for the little man with the big swing to hit the bench, and instead "Pedro" led AL rookies in batting average (.317) and doubles (39) while finishing second in on-base percentage (.386) and third in runs (86).
"We're very proud of Dustin for what he has accomplished and how he has conducted himself in a Red Sox uniform. So it's especially gratifying to see him recognized with such a prestigious honor," Boston GM Theo Epstein wrote in an e-mail. "From his first day in the organization, he's been a great example for all with his work ethic, fearlessness and respect for his teammates and the game. He gets the most out of his considerable abilities and does so with one thought in mind: winning championships for the Boston Red Sox."
The 24-year-old set a big-league record last season for batting average by a rookie second baseman and played a huge role in Boston's postseason run.
The always-confident Pedroia amazingly did all of that while enduring through the last two months of the season with a cracked hamate bone in his left hand, a bone that was removed during a surgical procedure in November.
The Rookie of the Year Award is the sixth in Red Sox history, the first for the Boston organization since Nomar Garciaparra took the AL by storm in 1997. For the generously listed 5-foot-8, 180-pound Pedroia, the World Series championship and season-ending award serve as an overwhelming confirmation of his self-confidence.
"Everyone doubted me at every level I've been to, you know, saying I'm too small, I'm not fast enough, my arm's not strong enough," Pedroia said. "There are a lot of people that have stuck by me and, you know, knew deep down that there's something about me that makes me a winning baseball player."
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