Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Woodland High School Class of 2001 and that season's Bee Player of the Year, has been named the American League most valuable player in voting announced today by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Pedroia received 16 first-place votes to become the first second baseman to win the A.L. MVP since Nellie Fox in 1959.
Minnesota first baseman Justin Morneau, who won the award in 2006, came in second place with seven first-place votes. Kevin Youkilis, Pedroia's teammate in Boston, was third with two first-place votes.
Pedroia, 25, is the first Sacramento-area player to win baseball's most prestigious individual award and was feted in just his second full big league season. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2007.
Listed generously at 5-feet-9 (he's closer to 5-6) and 180 pounds, the scrappy Pedroia led the A.L. in doubles (54), runs (118), multi-hit games (61) and tied Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki for most hits (213), becoming just the seventh player in A.L. history to lead the league in runs, hits and doubles, the first since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1983.
Pedroia, whose .326 batting average was second in the league to Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer's .328, hit 17 home runs and had 83 RBIs while swiping 20 of 21 stolen bases attempts, a 95.2 percent success rate that led the major leagues.
The Arizona State product, who was at his Chandler, Ariz., home awaiting the announcement, also had a career-best 17-game hitting streak from June 22 to July 9 and carried the Red Sox to the A.L.'s wild card berth after the late July trade of Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers as he batted all over Boston's lineup. In four starts at cleanup Pedroia batted .647 (11 for 17) with two home runs and seven RBI.
Pedroia was an integral part of Boston's 2007 World Series champs and, earlier this month, was awarded a Gold Glove for his defensive play.
Return for more on this story throughout the day.
Call The Bee's Paul Gutierrez, (916) 326-5556.
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