I sat down about an hour ago to write about seeing live baseball for the first time since the pandemic but then the Dustin Pedroia ceremony started. The original post is still coming (sorry to make us all relive that Tampa series) but inspiration has struck and tonight feels like a night where I need to do some writing about a player I love so dearly.

It's been more than ten years since I declared Pedroia my favorite player. His was the first jersey I picked out myself, and that jersey *might* be the first piece of Red Sox attire I owned that wasn't pink. I was devastated in 2017 when he was injured (10/10 would still fight Manny Machado), and I wouldn't shut up about how excited I was to see him leading up to the 2019 home opener. I am not exaggerating when I say that I love Dustin Pedroia.

I grew up watching baseball mostly by default. My brother was a Red Sox encyclopedia and my dad was his baseball coach so there was rarely a night where the Sox weren't on our TV. I was far from a sports fan at the time and baseball was the only sport I knew anything about but I'd still sit and watch with them sometimes.

I think all sports fans have a special folder in their brain of random sports moments that are vividly ingrained in their memory and one of mine is very mundane. I can't remember what team they were playing, what inning it was, or even if they were winning or losing. But I do remember Pedroia hitting into a run-of-mill ground out and my dad looking at my brother (a scrawny little second baseman, probably about 9 years old at the time) and saying "look how he keeps hustling and never lets up". Pedey got out on that play. I don't think it was the third out, but it was probably 13 years ago at this point so who knows. What sticks out to me about that play is that most people in the ballpark expected it to be an out (it was a routine groundball), but that didn't stop him from sprinting down the first baseline. As anyone who has watched a game in which Dustin Pedroia played would know, this was not the last time I watched Pedroia perform at 110%. It was also not the last time I would hear my dad point to Pedroia as the example of a guy who plays hard. A couple of those comments from my dad and I was sold. Dustin Pedroia shot his way up to the top of my list of Red Sox and has stayed there ever since.

There's something so magical about a player who plays for one team their whole career and to me, Pedroia is the epitome of a player who embodies their team. He is so much of a Red Sox legend that the team couldn't wait out the three-year waiting period and instead inducted him to the Red Sox Hall of Fame just a few months post-retirement.

When Pedroia joined NESN in our booth tonight, they talked about how Pedroia always strived to be not only the best second baseman but the best player on the field night in and night out. To this, Pedroia said that he wanted to be the player that kids pointed to as the player they wanted to be. I have long said that Dustin Pedroia is a player that young baseball players look up to but after reflecting on his 17 years in a Red Sox uniform and how Sox Nation has celebrated him going into his retirement, I'm willing to take it a step further.

Dustin Pedroia is a player that makes kids love baseball.

Sure, some of those kids are aspiring baseball players who look to him as the model of who they want to be, but some of them aren't. Some of those kids are kids like me, with absolutely no athletic talent nor any interest in playing a sport at all. I was a dancer who loved musical theatre and Disney Princesses. I wasn't a kid who cared about sports, but somewhere along the way, I turned into a slightly obsessive twenty-something who is emotionally invested in the result of each and every Red Sox game. I don't think I'm being dramatic in saying that players like Dustin Pedroia played a huge role in me becoming a hardcore Boston sports fan.

The thing about Dustin Pedroia is he is fun to root for. You could always count on him to give it his everything and leave it all on the field. The respect he has earned from those who know him ripples around the league, as evidenced by the video shown at Fenway Park. Former Sox manager Terry Francona, former teammates turned managers David Ross and Kevin Cash, his former Arizona State coach Pat Murphy, and former Sox broadcaster Don Orsillo (who earned quite an applause from the Boston crowd) sent glowing well wishes. Tim Wakefield, Mike Lowell, Pedro Martinez, and Luis Tiante were there for the festivities, and even Jacoby Ellsbury made his first appearance at a baseball game since 2019 in a Sox jersey even though the team that has been paying him was sitting in the visitor's dugout. All their praise leads to the same conclusion: Pedroia is a hell of a player, teammate, and all-around human.

The most telling comments on Pedroia's impact came from who else but David Ortiz who we all know would've been there to celebrate his longtime teammate if he was not currently recovering from surgery. Big Papi sent his regards via video saying, "Just to let you know, man, that if there’s one teammate that I would pick to play the rest of my career with, that would have been you, bro. That would have been you. You bring it every time. Every day you bring something to the table. When I first started playing baseball, all I heard people talk about was ‘big guys, big guys, big guys. Oh, you gotta be big for this. You gotta be big for that.’ With you, I learned one thing: it’s not about sizes, it’s about heart, man, and you got a big one. As a teammate, as a fan, I don’t think you can ask a player for more than what you gave us. You gave everything. You left everything on that field every day."

Pedroia Night was quite the event, as it should be as the send-off for a player of that caliber. He has cemented himself as an icon in Boston, with all that he did on the field as well as the impacts he has made on the community. His contributions to the Jimmy Fund, Home Base, and in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings will never be forgotten as he steps away from baseball (for now. Pedey himself told tonight's broadcast "I’ll be in uniform once more. I believe everyone is aware of that"). The impacts he's had on the Boston community was evidenced by some of tonight's guests, including Jimmy Fund patients and their families, military families whom Dustin has met through Home Base, and a pair of Marathon bombing victims who the Pedroias have become close friends with over the years. One can imagine there wasn't a dry eye in the house as Jane Richard, sister of Martin Richard, sang the national anthem as she did back in 2013.

All around, it was an emotional night for this Pedey fan, who sat and watched the NESN stream from Florida in her treasured #15 jersey with tears in her eyes. It cannot be overstated how much I, and all of Red Sox nation, love Dustin Pedroia. So from the very bottom of my heart, I say: Thank you Dustin Pedroia for helping me fall in love with Red Sox baseball and for always giving me something to root for.

The dark days of a baseball-less world are behind us, and the 2020 MLB season is here. After a long offseason following the disappointment of the 2019 Boston Red Sox, baseball is finally back at Fenway.

It’s hard to be too optimistic about a team that looks very similar to last season’s roster, minus some big names. The most notable absence is Mookie Betts, 2018 AL MVP and four-time Gold Glove right fielder, who the Sox sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster trade this February. That same trade sent former Cy Young winner David Price to the Dodgers, a significant loss to an already shallow rotation. The offseason also saw the departure of fan-favorite Brock Holt, beloved in Boston for his work with the Jimmy Fund and hitting the first postseason cycle in MLB history to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The biggest concern going into 2020 is the pitching. In addition to losing Price, the starting rotation will also be without it’s ace Chris Sale, who underwent Tommy John surgery in March. To add COVID to injury, the Sox have had to temporarily shut down lefty pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez due to ongoing complications from his bout with the coronavirus this month, and recent acquisition Collin McHugh has decided to opt-out of the season. The absence of Sale and E-Rod leaves a rotation that was already a big question mark looking even barer. 

The bullpen has several familiar faces, which would be a lot more comforting if Red Sox fans hadn’t become accustomed to blown leads by relievers last year. The Sox will likely be putting a lot of faith in Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier, with Brandon Workman as the closer. All three of these Sox veterans have had their highs and lows in recent years, but in a season so short, we better hope that they can hit a hot streak. 

The key to 2020 is going to be in the offense. The lineup will need to be able to score enough per game to make up for the shaky pitching rotation, and the Red Sox have the tools to do some scoring. JD Martinez is arguably the best hitter in the order, and the most consistent. Following him in the lineup is Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, both of whom had breakout years in 2019 and have high expectations for the year ahead. Andrew Benintendi is coming off his worst season offensively and is desperate to have a breakout year. If Benny can get his bat going in that leadoff spot, the top half of the order is in tip-top shape.

The back end of the order is not looking too shabby, either. Mitch Moreland, the hottest hitter for the Red Sox last April, is looking to mimic that strong start to make a significant impact during this 60-game stretch. Christian Vazquez is coming off the best offensive season in his career by a long shot, and it would be great to see him hit at that level again in 2020. Newcomers Kevin Pillar and Jose Peraza have been off to a hot start this season going 7-for-10 combined in the season opener. Jackie Bradley Jr is another hitter off to an excellent start in 2020. JBJ has gone 5-for-8 in the first two games of the season, a good sign for a notoriously streaky batter. Add in second-year infielder Michael Chavis and outfielder Alex Verdugo, who came to Boston via the Mookie Betts deal, and you have a lineup with plenty of potential for standouts. 

In a regular season, I wouldn’t necessarily bet on this Red Sox team to go too far. With a 60 game sprint and an expanded playoff, this isn’t a typical season, and truly anything can happen. All I’m going to say is: don’t let the Sox get too hot.

While the weather may not totally reflect it, spring has arrived, and with it comes later sunsets, warmer weather, greener scenery and, most importantly, baseball season.

I frequently tell people that the months between the Super Bowl and MLB Opening Day is the hardest part of the year for me. What can I say? I’m very loyal to my Boston teams. But while football holds a place in my heart, I was born and raised on Fenway Franks and ice cream in the little helmet cups which means that the start of a new Red Sox season brings a whole different variety of emotions.

For me, the Red Sox are synonymous with Fenway and Fenway is synonymous with feeling at home. There are few places I feel more comfortable than when I’m watching a game at Fenway. Family trips to see the Sox were a large part of my childhood, which is why Fenway holds so much nostalgia and coziness for me.

Which is why my first away Sox game was so bittersweet.

Game day started the same. It ended the way I hoped. But it was different. I put on the same old Sox hat and Pedroia jersey that I’ve worn a million times (I’m a wear-her-jersey-around-the-house-on-game-day kinda girl) and I set out with the same excitement to see my team as always. I did the same awkward victory dance I do every time they win. But everything between was different. It was weird.

There was no hustle and bustle of Yawkey Way, none of the all too familiar Red Sox playlist, no Sweet Caroline or Dirty Water. It was missing all the key Boston pieces, and it made me the most homesick I’ve been since I moved.

The Sox will be in town several more times this season, and Im excited to see them as many times as possible. But more than anything else, I’m counting the days until my next game at Fenway.