Red Sox first base coach Ron Johnson received an extraordinary Father’s Day gift on Sunday. His son, third baseman Chris Johnson, was told by the Astros that he will be brought back up to the majors.
Ron Johnson, a baseball lifer, suggests that the advice he offers to his son is fairly simple. He points to Dustin Pedroia, the All-Star second baseman whom he managed with Triple-A Pawtucket back in 2005 and 2006, as the paragon whom a young player should seek to follow.
“I’m always telling him, ‘Just watch Pedey,’” Ron Johnson said. “You open a dictionary to look up a head’s up ballplayer and there’s his picture. … I see it here in the big leagues. I look at what he’s evolved into and it’s incredible.”
The latest example of that trait came on Sunday night in the Sox’ 2-0 victory over the Dodgers. (Recap.) Pedroia went 3-for-4 with a triple, extending his hitting streak to 10 games during which he is hitting .500. But no one was talking about the three hits after the game. Instead, the buzz was about a play that typified the dictionary definition to which Ron Johnson referred.
In the bottom of the first inning, Pedroia singled and then, with David Ortiz batting, swiped second base. The throw from Dodgers catcher Russell Martin bounced past shortstop Jamey Carroll, where it was fielded cleanly by Casey Blake, who was in perfect position for the backup.
Ordinarily, a runner would not have advanced on a ball that was fielded cleanly by the backup infielder. But Pedroia hopped to his feet and immediately took off for third, a decision that he made as soon as he saw the ball get past Carroll.
And why?
“Red Bulls,” Pedroia joked.
The reality was more impressive. Pedroia understood that, with Ortiz up, the Dodgers had implemented a shift that had third baseman Blake playing on the right side of second base. And, when he saw that the ball had gotten past Carroll, he also recognized that starter Hiroki Kuroda had not budged from the pitcher’s mound.
“It’s a tough read, very tough read. The first thing you’ve got to do is look up and seeing if the pitcher’s doing his job. He did a great job of taking it all in and making a great decision,” said third base coach Tim Bogar. “It’s great. It’s like having another coach out on the field.”
And so, Pedroia saw an opportunity to take off for a completely unoccupied third base. Unless someone could chase him down from behind, an extra base was his, a fact that became reality when he launched himself into a bellyflop onto the hot corner, with Martin getting charged with a throwing error.
The significance of the extra base soon became apparent, as Pedroia scooted home on an infield single by Kevin Youkilis. That gave Clay Buchholz and the Sox an early 1-0 lead, giving the team all the offense it would need against the Dodgers.
It was a play that is rarely seen, a player recognizing the sliver of opportunity and exploiting it to take an extra base. Yet Pedroia discussed the play as if it had been routine.
“As a defender you don’t even think about that, if you’re able to steal a base and the throw is kind of up the line, you might as well go,” Pedroia explained. “It’s such a tough play for them to catch and tag you on the run, so you might as well take a chance. … If the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to get over there with less than two outs. It actually worked out perfect.”
To be sure, there are other examples of players exploiting such situations. Two, both from Yankees, come to mind.
Derek Jeter once had his shoulder separated when then-Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby crashed onto the Yankees superstar while racing to cover a vacated third base. The other occurred in the 2009 World Series, when Johnny Damon saw his opening and sprinted to third for a double steal in the ninth inning of Game 4.
Pedroia, however, could not credit Damon’s dash for inspiration.
“I wasn’t watching,” Pedroia grinned. “I was barbecuing, man. I have a life. If I’m not in it, I don’t watch it.”
Those who watched Pedroia’s play, however, understood that the play on Sunday night was special, as was its author.
“He does a really good job of seeing the whole game,” said teammate Mike Cameron. “He’s a complete, feisty little SOB who plays the game hard but intelligent.”