Dustin PedroiaBY: Alex & Colton

Who he is

• Dustin Luis Pedroia born August 17, 1983, in Woodland, California Pedroia has won several awards, including the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVPaward. He also won a Silver Slugger as a second baseman, and a Gold Glove in 2009. He was also second overall in the AL in batting average in 2008. Pedroia is listed by Major League Baseball and the Red Sox as 5' 8" (175 cm) and 180 pounds. In 2003 a USA Today article gave his height as 5' 7" (170 cm),

High school and college

• Pedroia batted .445 his senior year and was chosen as his league's MVP. Pedroia went to Arizona State University, where he was teammates with current Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler. Kinsler and Pedroia battled for the shortstop position Pedroia collected his first Major League hit in his first game in the majors, on August 22, 2006, against the Los Angeles Angels . Pedroia earned his first major league home run on September 9, 2006, against the Kansas City Royals . He wore number 64 in 2006; at the start of the 2007 season he switched to his current number, 15. Pedroia finished the season with a low .191 average with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs.