Small wonder

Should Dustin Pedroia win the American League MVP award? Let's put it this way: If he keeps hitting like this, his 2007 Rookie of the Year award is guaranteed...See more » Should Dustin Pedroia win the American League MVP award? Let's put it this way: If he keeps hitting like this, his 2007 Rookie of the Year award is guaranteed to have some glitzy company atop the mantel. Oh, we all know the Red Sox' version of Tanner Boyle doesn't exactly look the part. He'd be one of the smallest MVPs of modern times - he's listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 180 pounds, which, according to baseballreference.com, makes him allegedly two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than two-time NL MVP Joe Morgan. But Pedroia's numbers are staggering for a hitter of any stature. He's leading the American League in batting (.330), hits (188), multiple-hit games (55) and runs (108) and third in doubles (43) and total bases (283). He has knocked in 22 runs in his last 19 games, is batting .600 over his last seven games, and has nine hits in 14 at-bats in the cleanup spot. According to the Elias Stats Bureau via Buster Olney's blog, Pedroia is the first player in Red Sox history with a five-run, a five-hit, and a five-RBI game in the same season. Considering the hitters who have graced this franchise, that is an incredibly impressive accomplishment. As is this: Pedroia has emerged as the batter you want to see up in a key situation, and that is a heck of a feat considering one of his teammates is David Americo Ortiz, a.k.a. "The Greatest Clutch Hitter in the History of the Boston Red Sox." (No offense, Impossible Dreamers; that is what the plaque says.)See less »