Pedroia Wins Gold Glove. Could Wallace be Next?
Former Arizona State star Dustin Pedroia claimed the AL Gold Glove Award last week and is still on the short list for MVP. Meanwhile, fellow Sun Devil Brett Wallace is developing quite nicely at third base.
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia won the American League Gold Glove after a season in which he posted a .992 fielding percentage and just six errors in 733 chances. He also batted .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs.
Up next for Pedroia could be the AL MVP Award, which will be handed out next week. (As we wrote back in September, we think they should give it to the jockey.)
We feel this Pedroia quote from the Boston Globe sums up why we’ve loved Pedro since his days in Tempe. “I really didn’t think much about (the award). I was kind of still a little upset after the way the season ended, watching the World Series.”
Meanwhile, none who watched him at ASU would accuse Brett Wallace of playing with a Gold Glove at third base. But with Albert Pujols blocking Wallace’s ascent to the majors as a first baseman, third base is exactly where he’s been playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.
It turns out Wallace is developing quite nicely at third base. He had six errors in 126 chances during the regular season.
After hitting .337 with eight home runs and 36 RBI in 202 minor league at-bats this summer, Wallace was placed along with six other Sun Devils in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.
Quoth Cardinals suit John Vuch to MLB.com: “He’s been better than we expected defensively. He has an unusual throwing motion, but he has arm strength. He doesn’t look like your prototypical third baseman, but he has first-step quickness and his hands work. We knew he was going to hit.”
No wonder we placed Wallace atop our list of the top five Sun Devils in minor league baseball.
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Speaking of odd Devils third basemen: Slugger Jeff Larish, who played outfield for ASU and had been getting work at first base in the Tigers organization, is getting reps at third base now in the Fall League.