Boston Red Sox’s two-time World Series champion second baseman Dustin Pedroia was named to Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, but will the four-time All-Star receive enough votes to get in? It’s difficult to say. While the Red Sox continue their Juan Soto pursuit this offseason, Pedroia’s case for making the Hall of Fame is complicated, considering a knee injury derailed his career and ultimately stunted his undoubtedly extraordinary career, as ESPN’s Buster Olney alluded to in announcing Dustin’s nomination.
Due to Pedroia’s devastating knee injury, he’s unsure that the second baseman is a lock.
“Dustin Pedroia is on the Hall of Fame ballot, and if not for the knee injury (suffered at age 33) that effectively ended his career, his would’ve been a slam-dunk case,” Olney said. “He finished with a lifetime batting average of 1,805 hits, a ROY Award, an MVP Award, 4 Gold Gloves, 4 All-Star appearances, three World Series titles. He would’ve had an absolute blast among inductees at Cooperstown.”
Pedroia’s 2017 knee injury spelled the beginning of the end for Dustin’s career. He batted .293 with 62 RBIs and seven home runs in 105 games, the most he played in the last three seasons of his career. Dustin’s deteriorating health ultimately forced him to retire.
David Ortiz reveals his Juan Soto free agency pitch
As Baseball Hall of Fame designated hitter David Ortiz continues his Juan Soto pitch on the Red Sox’s behalf, he’s doing everything possible to convince Soto to head to Boston. In a recent episode of the Red Sox Rundown podcast with Masslive.com’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam, Ortiz believes Soto would feel right at home playing at Fenway Park.
“He’s going to play for an organization that has a lot of history. He’s going to play for an organization that has the greatest fans,” Ortiz said. “He’s going to feel like he’s going to be playing at home in the Dominican Republic. And, he’s going to have in his corner his godfather, Big Papi.”
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In an interview with WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, Ortiz also revealed his close relationship with Soto and his family.
“We live in the same building,” Ortiz said. “I was with his mom and his brother last night. We were laughing because somebody sent a fake video saying the Red Sox paid $780 million to him. I saw that when I was sitting with them and we were laughing like crazy.”
Only time will tell if Ortiz’s recruitment comes to fruition.