Dustin Pedroia: ROTY, Gold Glover ... MVP?

After being dubbed to small to make it in the bigs, and later, the "next David Eckstein," Dustin Pedroia went on to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, while hitting .317 and helping the Sox win a World Series.

A second World Series ring was not in the cards this season, but Pedroia still took home some hardware - a Gold Glove.

"I really didn't think much about it," Pedroia said on a conference call. "I was kind of still a little upset after the way the season ended, watching the World Series. I'm definitely excited. I've been getting text messages all day."

With a .992 fielding percentage and just six errors in 733 chances, Pedroia outdistanced his closest competition, Oakland's Mark Ellis, to become the second Sox second baseman to win the Gold Glove. Doug Griffin won in 1972.

Pedroia's fielding percentage this season was the third highest for a Sox second baseman, after Mark Loretta (.994 in 2006) and Bobby Doerr (.993 in 1948). Over his last 91 games in 2008, Pedroia had just one error.

"Luis Alicea helped me out a ton; Alex Cora," Pedroia said. "Just preparing me to move from shortstop to second base [which he did before the 2007 season]. We definitely took a ton of ground balls in trying to get better. In the last couple years, I think I've proven [to] myself I can be a great defender in this league. All that paid off.

"I pretty much watched everybody. See how their footwork was, where the feeds were. Just pretty much everything. You get better as you get more experience. Since I didn't have any experience, I watched guys who did.

"That was one of my biggest things in the offseason, to become faster and quicker to get some more balls. Make my range better. I'm always back here trying to prevent runs from scoring. A ton better from last year, more mature. Hopefully, I can continue to get better."

Pedroia has become a fan favorite thanks to his "dirt dog" style and All-Star caliber play. And in typical Pedroia fashion, a .317 BA and a ROTY award was not enough last year... his work in the offseason earned him the Gold Glove and increased his power and speed. He hit 9 more homers this year (8/17) and stole 13 more bases (7/20) - all while hitting .326 and finishing just .002 points behind Joe Mauer for the AL batting title.

Bottom Line: Pedroia the Destroyah may need to build a bigger mantle, with the winner of the AL MVP Award set to be announced in 11 days...