Nov 12, 2007 2:54 pm US/Eastern
Red Sox Pedroia Wins Rookie Of The Year
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Pedroia led off Game One of the World Series against the Rockies with a home run.
Nick Laham/Getty Images
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. The Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun won the N.L. Rookie of the Year award in one of the closest votes in baseball history.
Braun, Milwaukee's slugging third baseman, edged Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki by two points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Pedroia easily beat Tampa Bay outfielder Delmon Young. Voting was done before Pedroia helped lead the Red Sox to the World Series title.
Pedroia hit .317 with 8 home runs and 50 RBI in his rookie season. His .317 average was tenth best in the American League and the highest batting average ever for a rookie second baseman.
He also shined in the post-season. He led off Game One of the World Series against the Rockies with a home run; hitting .278 with 4 RBI's in Boston's four game sweep of Colorado.
Overall Pedroia hit .283 with 10 RBI's in 14 post-season games. With Boston facing elimination in games 5, 6 and 7 of the ALCS, Pedroia went 7 for 13. In the clinching Game 7, he had a home run and 5 runs batted in.
The 24-year old started off the regular season hitting only .182 in April, but the Red Sox and manager Terry Francona stuck with him, and that confidence paid off. Pedroia hit .415 in May and never stopped hitting.
Most remarkable is the fact that he did much of this playing with a broken bone in his hand. Over the weekend it was revealed that Pedroia played at least the final two months of the season and the playoffs with a cracked hamate bone in his left hand.
Pedroia had surgery to remove the hamate bone November 6.
He's the sixth member of the Red Sox to win the A.L. Rookie of the Year award. The last player before him to do so was shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in 1997. Other winners include: Fred Lynn in 1975, Carlton Fisk in 1972, Don Schwall in 1961 and 1950 winner, Walt Dropo. Lynn was the first player ever to win both the A.L. Rookie of the Year and A.L. Most Valuable Player awards in the same season.
On Tuesday the winners of the American League Cy Young Award will be announced. Red Sox right-hander, Josh Beckett and Cleveland Indians lefty C.C. Sabathia are considered the favorites for the award. Beckett was the major's only 20 game winner in 2007.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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