Special visitor helps out at camp
Cora: 'The energy Pedroia still has is unreal'
FORT MYERS, FLA. >> The Red Sox are trying to fortify a middle infield that’s without Xander Bogaerts (forever), Trevor Story (bestcase scenario is several months), newcomer Adalberto Mondesí (no timetable), and strengthen leadership on a team that lost dozens of players and added over a dozen newcomers this winter.
What better way than to enlist the expertise of one of the franchise’s best infielders?
At Alex Cora’s request, Dustin Pedroia arrived at JetBlue Park early Saturday morning, and spent the morning with players. He’ll be at the facility until Monday.
The manager is amazed by his friend and former teammate. “The energy Pedroia still has is unreal,” Cora said after workouts.
A compliment, yes, but also a bittersweet reminder of what could have been. Pedroia was American League Rookie of the Year in 2007, AL MVP in 2008, a fourtime All-Star, and won four Gold Gloves (a Red Sox infield record) and two World Series (’07, ’13) with the Red Sox before knee injuries prematurely ended his potential Hall of Fame career.
After playing 105 games in 2017, Pedroia underwent knee surgery for the second consecutive offseason. He only played nine games after that — three in 2018, and six in April 2019 — before
going on the Injured List and undergoing another knee surgery. After missing the entire 2020 season, he officially announced his retirement in February 2021.
Coach Pedey?
Even before he retired, Pedroia was viewed as someone with a bright future coaching, even managing.
The former infielder isn’t ready for that second act just yet.
His reappearance at spring training inevitably brings such speculation to the surface again — the Red Sox Instagram account even called him “Coach Pedey” in a post on Saturday — but he and Cora both pumped the brakes.
“(His family) is his team right now,” Cora said, “little by little, he’ll keep showing up and helping us out. … It’s always good for him to be around and we’ll see what happens in the future.”
“He wants me here, I’ll be here,” Pedroia said. “Obviously I’ll do anything for Alex. What he meant to me in my career and the way
he helped me, the things he taught me. If he asks, I’m there. But as far as like, a major role with the organization, I’m not there yet. My kids are young. I’m focused on them.”
But Pedroia has been helping behind the scenes. On Saturday, he said he’d been texting with Justin Turner when the Red Sox were trying to sign him. The veteran infielder ended up taking a one-year contract with a player option for a second season.
And this trip to the Fort gives Pedroia a chance to get his feet wet leading in a non-player capacity.
“I know there’s a lot of people out there questioning our leadership in the clubhouse, well, you know, bringing guys like that is gonna help us, right?” Cora continued, “(Pedroia) led in a different way … he led by example. There’s a reason he’s limping around, right? Because he did everything for this franchise.”
The ultimate ‘dirt dog,’ Pedroia famously injured his thumb on Opening Day 2013, and waited to have UCL surgery until after they won the World Series. In addition to getting a second ring, he was an AllStar and won a Gold Glove that year. But in order for the second baseman to play through that injury and pain, a teammate recalled him needing a special glove insert to stabilize the digit, and that the severity of his injury was called into question because of how well he performed.
And, of course, there were countless knee procedures and surgeries, which never enabled him to end his career on his own terms, though he tried valiantly time and again. “Obviously, physically, the game took a lot from him,” Cora said.
One day, a weekend back at the Fort could turn into a full-time thing, but Cora believes “it’s gonna take a while.” Still, he thinks the Red Sox need to “make a conscious effort to have him around as much as possible.”
In the meantime, a little Laser Show is better than none at all.
“(We) need to “make a conscious effort to have him around as much as possible,” Cora said, “It’s fun to have him here, we’re gonna take advantage of the next three days.”