Pedroia named AL MVP

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BOSTON -- Where was Dustin Pedroia when he learned that he was the Most Valuable Player of the American League? Most fittingly, the second baseman of the Boston Red Sox was on his way to the gym.
A player whose talent had been largely influenced by his desire, Pedroia doesn't like to miss a workout, whether it is November or any other month of the year. But at the urging of his wife, Kelli, Pedroia finally gave himself a day off.


Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier -- Pedroia's winter workout partner in Arizona -- had to go solo this time around.

"I called Andre and said, 'I won the MVP, dude. I've got to go home.' It was one of those things," said Pedroia in a conference call. "Me and my wife, we're so excited. We never would have thought this would happen, especially this young into my career. We're thrilled."

It was the latest accomplishment in what has been a rapid burst into the national spotlight for Pedroia.

Though most pundits expected the race for MVP to be agonizingly close, Pedroia won in comfortable fashion, garnering 16 of 28 first-place votes. He also received six second-place votes, four third-place votes and one fourth-place vote for 317 total points. And Pedroia was surprisingly left off the ballot of Evan Grant, the veteran writer from The Dallas Morning News who posted a blog entry on Tuesday night saying, "In retrospect, it was a mistake."

Runner-up Justin Morneau of the Twins received seven first-place votes and finished with 257 points. Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis finished third, tallying two first-place votes and 201 points.

"I really didn't know what to expect," said Pedroia. "I was just excited to be named with all those players. There's a ton of great players. When you hear your name come up in that category, you definitely get excited and nervous. I wasn't nervous or overly excited. For me, just to be in that category is an extreme honor."

Following a 2007 season in which Pedroia helped fuel the Red Sox to a World Series championship and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, the right-handed hitting machine staged quite an encore.

"It's unbelievable," said Pedroia. "When I first got called up to the Major Leagues in 2006, I really didn't know what to expect. I really didn't set any expectations or goals on myself. My biggest thing was, if I'm in the lineup that day, I'm going to play as hard as I can and try to help our team. That's been my mentality ever since I got called up to the big leagues. That's how I'm going to be successful. I have to keep that mind-set every season. This year, I was very successful. Hopefully, I can continue that."