Pedroia carried the Sox offensively for much of the season, and his defense was a tremendous asset as well. The scrappy second baseman led the American League in runs (118) and multi-hit games (61). He also tied Ichiro Suzuki for the Major League lead in hits with 213. Additionally, Pedroia finished only four points back of Joe Mauer's .330 average (Pedey hit .326) for the AL Batting Title, and came in fourth in total bases (322) and seventh in extra base hits (73).
He made only six errors in 733 total chances, good for a fielding percentage of .992, which was second only to A's second baseman Mark Ellis (.993), who had 165 fewer chances.
Pedroia hit 17 homers and drove in 83 runs, and stole 20 of a possible 21 bases. Without his incredible play, the Red Sox would not have been only one win from another trip to the Fall Classic.
Pedroia is the first Red Sox player to win the MVP since first baseman Mo Vaughn in 1995, and he may have a hard time finding room for all the new hardware he'll be receiving. Pedroia can add the AL 2B Silver Slugger award, the AL 2B Gold Glove award, and now the MVP to last years Rookie of the Year trophy on his mantle.
Red Sox teammate Kevin Youkilis finished third in the voting. Pedroia became the tenth MVP in the history of the club, following Jimmy Foxx (1938), Ted Williams (1946, 1949), Jackie Jensen (1958), Carl Yastrzemski (1967), Fred Lynn (1975), Jim Rice (1978), Roger Clemens (1986) and Vaughn (1995).
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