Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia
finally calls it a career. Since Shank is generally incapable of anything resembling a respectful retirement-type ending when it comes to a local athlete signing off, he wisely turns it over to two guys who know him best, Theo Epstein and
Curt Schilling Tito Francoa:
Two guys who know him well have the highest praise for Dustin Pedroia
Theo Epstein and Terry Francona are busy guys with important jobs, not always eager to talk about their Red Sox years, which were important but did not end well.
Just a friendly reminder - Shank was uniquely instrumental in the former's departure from the Red Sox with
the infamous 'Dirty Laundry' column. How Shank got Tito Francoa to co-write his book with him after that bullshit will forever be a mystery on par with Jimmy Hoffa's true burial site.
Both responded immediately when I reached out Monday regarding the retirement of Dustin Pedroia.
“It’s a combination of sadness and real appreciation,” Epstein said of a player he drafted in the second round out of Arizona State in 2004. “It’s tough to see someone like him, whose heart would allow him to accomplish anything he wanted, not go out on his own terms.
“But at the same time, it gives everyone an opportunity to think back at everything he accomplished and everything he meant to the Red Sox and how this entire era wouldn’t have been possible without him.
Probably for the best to let them do the talking for Shank, who could not help himself over the years and took some
juvenile potshots at Pedroia because of his height. To my recollection, today is the first time he ever put that into its proper context and not made it sound like the juvenile potshot it otherwise is.
1 comment:
People like CHB never truly appreciated what a great athlete Pedroia was. Even as recently as 2016, he was producing at an All-Star ability. Had Machado not injured Pedey with that slide into second back in 2017, there's a strong possibility that there would be a real discussion happening now about his chances at the Hall of Fame.
People also seem to forget that Pedey signed a VERY team-friendly contract extension in 2013 (eight years, $110M). Those aren't small dollars, but there's no reason that he could have gone to free agency and commanded $20M/season. He LIKED playing in Boston, and we repaid him by questioning his character while he did everything possible to rehab and return to the field.
Apparently, he is skilled at ignoring the idiots on social media as well as hack sportswriters who should have retired themselves.
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