Dustin Pedroia announces his retirement

This isn’t really a surprise at this point, but it is official and no easier to swallow. Dustin Pedroia has announced his retirement from baseball. The team big him farewell on Monday morning, and the franchise legend will speak with the media this afternoon.

The team owners have released a statement of their own.

As far as the logistical side of things, it seems to be functioning as a release and then retirement, meaning he will get his full salary for 2021. Which is absolutely what he deserves. The move also opens up a 40-man roster spot.

Speaking of the logistical part of this does a disservice to who Pedroia was as a player and what he meant to the franchise as a player. One of the best players for the team in my lifetime, the career achievements are well known. He was a three-time champion. He won an MVP and a Rookie of the Year in subsequent seasons. He made four All-Star teams and won four Gold Gloves. He was the leader of the clubhouse for over a decade, even after his knee stopped allowing him to play. He was one of the funniest soundbites in recent Red Sox memory.

There’s really so much to say about Dustin Pedroia and what he has meant to this franchise and to me personally as a fan that it’s hard to sum up in the immediate aftermath of this announcement, even having known it was coming for essentially a year at this point. So we’ll have more coherent thoughts about Pedroia and everything with his career later in the day. But for now we’ll keep it simple.

Good bye, good luck, and thank you for everything.