That palpable tension emanating from out by Highway 113? That would be joyful hope radiating from Woodland in general, the Pedroia homestead in particular. Because today, at 11 a.m., the local kid made good, a ballplayer with seemingly more in common with the Bad News Bears' scrappy and mouthy Tanner Boyle than with the games' larger-than-life greats, can join baseball royalty.

Make that, he should rush the national pastime's legion of blue bloods. The American League MVP, voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, is announced at that hour, and Dustin Pedroia, second baseman of the Boston Red Sox by way of Woodland High School, ought to get that call.

Go ahead, call me a homer, a sucker looking out for the area kid. But do your homework first, and then realize that Pedroia, all 5-foot-6 (he's generously listed at 5-9), 180 pounds of him – soaking wet and with rocks in his pockets – is most deserving.

Really, the only thing larger than the chip on his shoulder is the mammoth season he just turned in.

Pedroia led the A.L. in doubles (54), runs (118) and multi-hit games (61), and tied Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki for most hits (213) in the majors.

As such, Pedroia became just the seventh player to lead the league in runs, hits and doubles, and the first since Cal Ripken Jr. in his MVP season of 1983.

Still doubting the Wee One's candidacy? Pedroia, 25, finished second in a hotly contested batting race, hitting .326 to Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer's .328. And Pedroia stole 20 bases in 21 attempts, a 95.2 percent success rate that led the major leagues, and was fourth in the A.L. in total bases with 322.

Even if stats don't catch the collective fancy of voters – two writers from each A.L. city select 10 candidates in order of preference with a first-place vote worth 14 points, a second-place vote worth nine, a third-place vote worth eight and on down to one for 10th – his intangibles should.

In a season that included a 17-game hitting streak from June 22 to July 9, Pedroia was the most consistent throughout the season, one voter said. Another penciled Pedroia in as MVP in mid-September and saw no reason to replace him.

Pedroia positively carried the Red Sox when Manny Ramírez was traded, leading them to the A.L. wild card while batting all over Boston's lineup and becoming a New England folk hero.

Consider: Four times the purportedly paltry Pedroia batted cleanup, and he responded by hitting a sick .647 (11 for 17) with two home runs and seven RBIs.

Plus, he did not end his season prematurely when the calendar flipped to September by foolishly breaking his wrist in a fit of frustration by hitting his bat, as did Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox. And some voters can't stomach a closer as MVP, so adios, Francisco Rodríguez.

Still, there are doubters. I asked an East Coast reporter and lifelong follower of the Red Sox if Pedroia, at his Chandler, Ariz., home awaiting today's announcement, would be feted and the reply was cryptic.

"By process of elimination, probably," the reporter said. "But he doesn't deserve it. He's not even the MVP of his own team. 'Youk' was the man in Boston this year."

Ah, yes, cult hero Kevin Youkilis, whose melodic first syllable of his last name has Fenway Park sounding as if dyslexic cows have overrun it – Yoouuuuuuk! – might be Pedroia's biggest roadblock, as they might have split the vote.

If not, that Woodland tension will become screams of joy. As it should.

Call The Bee's Paul Gutierrez, (916) 326-5556.