Ex-Red Sox Dustin Pedroia Credits ‘Best Manager’ Terry Francona

Red Sox great Dustin Pedroia played for many managers during his time in Boston, but only one stood out above the rest: Terry Francona.

Francona was loved during his eight years with the Red Sox. He led the team that broke Boston’s 86-year World Series curse in 2004, and proved it wasn’t a fluke in 2007. Additionally, Francona wasn’t afraid to welcome multiple personalities into the clubhouse. that makes Boston a unique culture unlike any other. teams.

In Pedroia’s case, Francona was highly regarded amid the captain’s likely retirement plan for standing in for the small infielder during a cold individual start to the 2007 season.

“Anybody can handle David Ortiz in his prime or Manny Ramirez in his prime or even me in my prime,” Pedroia told WEEI’s Rob Bradford of Audacy’s “Baseball Can’t Be Boring” podcast. “You just put them in the lineup and press play. But when a guy’s a rookie and he struggles and he’s unproven in one of the biggest markets in baseball, the biggest fanbase in baseball, the pressure to win, the pressure of everything, and for him to treat me to the way he did it, it only shows that he is not only the best manager, he is also one of the best people. I owe him everything.”

Before Pedroia was named Rookie of the Year in 2007, it was a rocky climb into the batter’s box that nearly turned the Fenway Park crowd against the former Boston second baseman.

Through the first 20 games of the ’07 campaign, Pedroia hit just .182, 10-for-55 with three doubles, two RBIs and 13 total bases. However, Francona never panicked and instead stuck with Pedroia as the go-to man and that decision paid off with a change during the month-to-month transfer from April to May.

Pedroia became a household name in May, hitting .415 for the month with six doubles, two home runs and recording a .600 slugging percentage. At the end of the season, Pedroia hit .317, silencing critics who challenged him with his size and unorthodox (but effective) upper-cut swing.

Since leaving Boston in 2011, Francona led Cleveland to Game 7 of the World Series in 2016, amassing an ongoing reputation as one of the most respected skippers in Major League Baseball history.

“The way he operates the clubhouse. The way he keeps everybody relaxed,” explained Pedroia. “There are times to be confused, there are times to focus. The way they run spring training. The way he takes care of his everyday guys and the way they never get tired. It works.”