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Red Sox fans with working eyeballs know that Dustin Pedroia is a brilliant defensive player. His positioning is second to none at second, and it allows him to seemingly be everywhere he needs to be within the blink of an eye, whether it's deep in the hole, in the shallow outfield, or all the way back towards the actual second base.
His prowess has been recognized by the Fielding Bible, as Pedroia has been awarded top honors among second basemen for his 2013 glove work:
With the most Defensive Runs Saved at second base in 2013 (15), and the most Defensive Runs Saved at that position over the last three years (44), Dustin Pedroia wins his second Fielding Bible Award in those three years. Pedroia has the highest total of Good Fielding Plays ever by a second baseman, with 89. He is especially adept at making plays going to his left; he has made 32 more plays than an average second baseman to his left over the last three years. His sure-handedness is legendary. He has the fourth-best fielding percentage of all-time at second base at .991 with a minimum of 500 games played. He has never had a single season below .990 playing regularly. Pedroia beat out 2012 award winner Darwin Barney in the voting by garnering 11 out of 12 first-place votes, good for 118 points. Barney finished second in the voting with 98 points.
In a nutshell, not only does Pedroia get to more balls than anyone at the position with regularity, but he's much more liable to follow through successfully on the play than his peers and those who came before him. He's a special defensive player, and that's just one more reason why the Red Sox locked him up with an extension this summer.
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