Regarding my man-crush on Dustin Pedroia

So, on occasion over the past year or two, I have struggled a little bit with my love for sports. I love playing sports for the pureness of "sport" - for physical activity and skill, for respectful competition between two or more people or teams, for the camaraderie within a team. And, well, if you know me, I like to win, too.

My struggle peaked this summer with the Manny Ramirez/Red Sox fiasco. Goodness knows how the story is twisted by the player, organization and media, but all indications are that Manny essentially quit on the Red Sox to force a trade so that he could get his option years on his contract voided, thus becoming a free agent with the ability to cash in on a bigger contract to finish out his career. When his wish was granted, because he was single handedly destroying the Red Sox clubhouse, he became a poster boy for everything that is good about a veteran player for the Dodgers... and he hit the holy hell out of the ball for the rest of the season.

I was offended, as a fan. Here's a guy who has made $160 million over the past eight years, more than I can even fathom making in about eight lifetimes. And although I appreciate everything he did for the Sox over the seven and a half years that he was with the team (two World Series titles? Buy that man a drink), in the end he not only quit on his teammates, he quit on me too. They always say sports are a business these days, but you know what? The fans are invested in a different way. And the players don't have to, but I can sure tell you that if I had the opportunity to play professional sports, I'd be busting my ass for not only my teammates and our individual and team goals, but for all of the fans who came to see me perform. The harsh reality is that most of the time it's a one way relationship. The fans pour their heart into a team, and sometimes they don't get anything back.

When Dustin Pedroia made the Red Sox as the starting second baseman out of spring training in 2007, he got off to a rough start. He hit about .175 through the first 4-6 weeks, and Dave Mandel and I were pretty sure that he was the worst player in Major League Baseball. Turns out we were wrong. Very wrong. But more importantly, he became the first Red Sox player that I truly loved to root for and watch play, and I've been following the Sox since about 1990. Don't get me wrong, I loved Pedro in his heyday because he dominated. He was a badass and he knew it. I loved Manny because he could hit the ball a country mile, and I loved Big Papi because he could too, and he was incredibly charming. I loved Mo Vaughn, the Hit Dawg, kind of the precursor to Big Papi. But Dustin Pedroia was this short, average looking guy that came along and succeeded for no apparent reason whatsoever other than the fact that he played the game the right way, and he played it hard.

About a week ago, Pedroia signed a contract extension that could be worth up to 7 years and $53 million. He gains in the short term by immediately increasing the value of his team-controlled years, but probably loses in the long run by giving up his first two years of free agency. If he maintained his level of play, between arbitration and free agency, he may very well have been able to gain a lot more financially. But according to the Boston Globe:

"I know that if I would have gone year to year, yes, I would probably have made a lot more money," Pedroia said. "I understand that without a doubt. But I'm here in a place that I love. My family loves it. They treat us unbelievable. It's like a family here. I'm happy with this."

"My first thought about the whole thing was, I play for the best team in the major leagues," said Pedroia, who hit .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs this past season while earning $457,000. "Who wouldn't want to play for the Boston Red Sox? We're going to have an opportunity to win every single year. The fans are the best; the city embraces their team. So, why not? It fits."

He might not hit the ball 500 feet, but isn't that a guy you could pour your heart into rooting for?