Draft and minor leagues Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the
2004 MLB draft, with the 65th pick overall. Pedroia, the eighth shortstop drafted, received a $575,000
signing bonus.
Boston Red Sox 2006–2007 After a brief call-up in 2006, when he hit just .191 in 89 at-bats, Pedroia became the regular second baseman for the Red Sox in
2007 replacing
Mark Loretta. Pedroia suffered through an early-season hitting slump, but recovered, later putting up a 13-game hitting streak and a five-hit game against the
Giants. He notably made a diving stop to preserve fellow rookie
Clay Buchholz's
no-hitter on September 1. Pedroia won the
AL Rookie of the Year award and was selected to the
2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. The Red Sox played the
Indians in the
2007 ALCS. In
Game 7 of the series, Pedroia
homered and
doubled, collecting five
RBI to secure the Red Sox' spot in the
World Series, to face the
Rockies. Pedroia homered in the first
at bat of the series, making him only the second player, and the first rookie, to
lead off the Series with a home run. The Red Sox went on to win their second World Series title in four seasons – and the first World Series championship for Pedroia.
2008: MVP season Pedroia performed very well during the 2008 regular season, and received AL MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. He was the first-ever Red Sox second baseman to win a Silver Slugger Award, the first Red Sox second baseman to win a Gold Glove since
Doug Griffin in 1972, and the first second baseman to win an American League MVP Award since
Nellie Fox in 1959. He
hit .326 with 17 home runs over 726
PAs, for a 127 wRC+. Pedroia was defensively great, making only six
errors through 157 games, saving +9.7 runs over the season, according to
UZR. Pedroia's contribution in the regular season was rated 6.5
WAR by Fangraphs, a "superstar" level of performance. He became only the third player in MLB history to win Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in consecutive seasons joining
Cal Ripken Jr. and
Ryan Howard, and later was followed by
Kris Bryant. Pedroia was hitless through the first three games of the
2008 ALDS, recording only an RBI double in Game 4. The Red Sox defeated the
Angels in four games. In the
ALCS against the
Tampa Bay Rays, Pedroia collected nine hits in 26 plate appearances, including three home runs and a double. The rest of the team struggled to a .234 batting average against the Tampa pitching staff, and the Red Sox lost the series.
2009 On December 3, 2008, Pedroia signed a six-year contract extension worth $40.5 million, with an additional team option for 2015 worth $11 million. Pedroia announced on December 15, 2008, that he would play for the United States team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He recorded the first Major League hit in
Citi Field history during an April 3
exhibition game against the
Mets. He hit a home run in his first at bat of the 2009 season. Pedroia was selected to start for the
2009 AL All Star Team. However, Pedroia had to withdraw from the team to stay with his wife Kelli, who was experiencing pregnancy complications with the couple's first child. The same issue had caused him to miss a regular season game prior to the All Star break. Pedroia achieved his first multi-home run game on September 8, 2009, against the
Orioles.
2010 In 2010, MLB
umpire Joe West made controversial statements regarding the speed of play between the Red Sox and
Yankees, Pedroia responded by saying, "What he doesn't understand is that when we don't do well in these games against the Yankees, we get killed. If he doesn't want to do Red Sox and Yankee games, he should tell the umpires' union. Then when we're in the World Series, he'll be out of that assignment, too." On June 24, 2010, Pedroia went 5 for 5, with 5 RBI, and hit three home runs in a game against the
Rockies that the Red Sox won, 13–11, in the
tenth inning. The next day, Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot in an at-bat versus the
Giants.
MRI results the next day confirmed that he had a broken bone in his foot, and he was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Pedroia was under doctor's orders not to put weight on his injured foot for two weeks, but continued to practice fielding
grounders while on his knees. Pedroia was named to be a reserve player on the
2010 AL All Star team, but did not participate due to this injury, and had former Arizona State teammate
Ian Kinsler replace him on the roster. Pedroia returned to the lineup on August 17 against the
Angels, only to be put back on the DL after playing 2 games. Pedroia would end the 2010 season having played only 75 games. and had his best defensive season by
ultimate zone rating, with 18.1 runs saved. On August 16, Pedroia was involved in throwing a triple play, started by
Jed Lowrie. Pedroia's 2011 season was rated at 7.6
Wins Above Replacement by
Fangraphs, an "MVP-caliber" performance.
2013 On July 23, 2013, Pedroia and the Red Sox agreed to an eight-year extension worth $110 million. Pedroia was represented in negotiations by Sam Levinson and Seth Levinson of ACES Inc. Pedroia bounced back from his injury-affected 2012 season to become the only player on the Red Sox to play more than 150 games during the
team's 2013 regular season, playing in 160 games. Pedroia posted a strong regular season performance, and was awarded his third Gold Glove, second
Fielding Bible Award, and the
Wilson Overall Defensive Player of the Year Award for the American League. The Red Sox won
their division and went on to win the
World Series. In November 2013, Pedroia underwent thumb surgery to repair a torn
UCL, an injury he suffered when sliding to first base on opening day.
2014 in 2014 In May 2014, Pedroia hit his 100th career home run and his 300th career double. Pedroia hit only four home runs before the
2014 All Star break, and his hitting productivity dropped to league average. For the season he batted .278/.337/.376. However, his fielding numbers remained strong.
2015 Pedroia began the 2015 MLB season with two home runs in the Red Sox opening game, on the road at
Citizens Bank Park,
Philadelphia. On June 25, 2015, the Red Sox placed him on the 15-day disabled list due to a right hamstring
strain.
2016 Pedroia had a strong month as a hitter in August, culminating in a streak of three games, from August 25 through 27, over which he hit safely in 11 consecutive at bats, falling one hit shy of tying the major league record of 12 consecutive at bats with a base hit (shared by three players since 1902). During the streak, Pedroia had 10 singles, one double, scored two runs and drove in three. He also walked once during the streak, thus reaching base safely over 12 consecutive plate appearances. In 154 games played, Pedroia batted .318 with 201 hits, 36 doubles, 105 runs scored, 15 home runs, and 74 RBI. He tied for second in the AL in double plays grounded into, with 24. The Red Sox finished the 2016 season with a 93–69 record, clinching the AL East division, but were swept in three games by the Indians in the
2016 ALDS. On October 13, Pedroia underwent left knee surgery, a partial medial meniscectomy and
chondroplasty. He won a 2016 Fielding Bible award. He also won the 2016
Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for second base, in all of MLB.
2017 On May 30, Pedroia was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left wrist sprain. On August 1, he was again placed on the 10-day disabled list due to left knee soreness, after being spiked in the knee by Orioles player
Manny Machado. On August 12, Pedroia was placed on the disabled list for the third time of the season due to soreness in the same knee. Limited to 105 games, Pedroia finished the
2017 Red Sox season with a .293 batting average, 7 home runs, and 62 RBI. On October 25, it was revealed that Pedroia underwent surgery on his knee for a complete cartilage restoration, meaning that he would miss the start of the 2018 season.
2018 Following his late 2017 knee surgery, Pedroia started the
2018 Red Sox season on the disabled list. On May 14, he was optioned to the
Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox for a rehabilitation assignment. He was activated on May 26, but after three games (batting 1-for-11), he wound up back on the disabled list with left knee inflammation. On August 4, Pedroia was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. On September 7, the Red Sox announced that Pedroia would take no further part in any action for the remainder of 2018. The Red Sox finished the year 108–54 and went on to win the
World Series over the
Los Angeles Dodgers. Although Pedroia did not play in the postseason and was not on the team's World Series roster, he and other various personnel not on the World Series roster did receive 2018 World Series rings, as championship rings are issued by a team at their discretion.
2019 On March 7, 2019, Pedroia made his spring training debut, hitting a single in his lone at bat of the game while playing in the field for two innings; it was his first game action since May 2018. He began the season on the
injured list. On April 4, he was sent to the
Class A Greenville Drive on a rehabilitation assignment, where he played in three games, batting 3-for-9. Pedroia was activated for Boston's home opener on April 9, appeared in six games while batting 2-for-20 (.100/.143/.100), and returned to the injured list on April 18 due to left knee irritation. He began a rehabilitation assignment with Double-A Portland on May 2. He restarted his rehabilitation, first with Triple-A Pawtucket on May 17, and then with Double-A Portland on May 24. After being evaluated, he announced on May 27 that he was going to take some time to evaluate his future. When asked if he would ever play again, he said "I'm not sure." The same day, the Red Sox moved Pedroia to the 60-day injured list. On August 6, Pedroia underwent a left knee joint preservation surgery. In 2019, he had the slowest sprint speed of all American League second basemen, at 25.0 feet/second.
2020 On January 21, 2020, it was reported that Pedroia suffered a "significant setback" with his left knee. On February 23, the team placed Pedroia on the 60-day injured list. Due to his injury, Pedroia missed the entirety of the shortened 2020 season.
Career statistics In 1,512 games over 14 seasons, Pedroia posted a career .299
batting average (1805-for-6031) with 922
runs, 394
doubles, 15
triples, 140
home runs, 725
runs batted in, 138 stolen bases, 624
walks, .365
on-base percentage, and .439
slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .991
fielding percentage as a second baseman. In 51 postseason games, he batted .233 (48-for-206) with 32 runs, 14 doubles, 5 home runs, 25 RBI, 3 stolen bases and 23 walks.
Retirement On February 1, 2021, Pedroia announced his retirement from Major League Baseball after 14 seasons. On June 25, 2021, the Red Sox honored Pedroia in a pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park, and announced his induction to the
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022. In 2025, his first year on the ballot for election to the
Baseball Hall of Fame, Pedroia received 11.9% of votes, short of the 75% required for election. The following year, his vote total increased to 20.7%. ==Honors and awards==