The batting title has lost some cachet in recent years. On-base percentage is now understood as a far more significant offensive factor. On-base-plus-slugging percentage has become a window into the diversity of a hitter’s skills.

Still, no one remembers the league leader in on-base percentage. Few, if any, Red Sox fans approached on the street will recall that David Ortiz led the American League with a .445 OBP in 2007, or that Manny Ramirez paced the junior circuit with a .439 mark in 2006.

But the league-leading .357 and .372 averages by Nomar Garciaparra in 1999 and 2000 are recalled easily, as are the five batting titles for Wade Boggs, the league-leading .301 for Yaz in 1968 or Ted Williams’ .406 in 1941.

Now, Dustin Pedroia has a chance—albeit a slim one—to join their ranks. Pedroia enters the final day of the season with a .325 average that is second in the American League, behind only Twins catcher Joe Mauer’s .330 mark.

In 1976, Cubs third baseman Bill Madlock entered the final game of the season with a .333 average, five points behind Ken Griffey, Sr. But Madlock went 4-for-4 to improve to .339.

Griffey, who was out of the starting lineup (an Operation Sitdown tactic that had been employed by Matlock for much of September), entered the game when word arrived that Madlock had hits in his first two at-bats. Griffey went 0-for-2 to finish at .336.

So a batting title remains a possibility for Pedroia, a player who enthusiastically describes his laser shows and rockets off the Wall to teammates. Even so, Pedroia reveals little interest in the topic of his personal accomplishments.

The Sox second baseman has remained true to that form ever since the Sox drafted him in 2004. In his introductory press conference, he expressed complete disinterest in personal accomplishment.

“My main goal isn’t to win myself,” he said at the time. “It’s to win a championship.”

He has never deviated from that mantra. In that regard, it would seem appropriate to turn to a like-minded player for insight into the pursuit of a batting title.

In 2006, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was similarly locked in a batting race with Mauer. Entering the final game of the year, the Yankees shortstop trailed his Minnesota counterpart by just one point, .346 to .345. The Yankee Stadium scoreboard offered batting race updates after each of Mauer’s at-bats.

Mauer went 0-for-1 to start the day, his average dipping to .3455. Jeter, on the other hand, started the day with a hit to boost his average to .3457. But Mauer went on to collect two hits in his next three at-bats, while Jeter went hitless in his final four at-bats of the game.

Jeter offered this perspective on his second career near-miss (he had finished third in 2003 with a .324 average, just behind Bill Mueller (.326) and Manny Ramirez (.325) of the Sox):

“The most important thing is always winning,” said Jeter. “But if someone tells you they don’t care about winning a batting title, they’re lying to you. It definitely would have been cool.”

Jason Bay once won a batting championship in the minors. His team—the Clinton LumberKings of the Single-A Midwest League—made no secret of the importance it attached to the accomplishment.

Bay had joined the team after a demotion from High-A ball. He started slowly, but then destroyed the ball down the stretch. Still, because of his late start in the league, it appeared that he might not qualify for the batting title.

So his team, which finished an astounding 36 games out of first, focused its attentions on getting him a batting crown. Bay was installed as the leadoff hitter in order to glean as many plate appearances as possible.

“I qualified on the last day,” said Bay, who finished the season with a .362 mark. “So the guy that was going to win  (Jason Maule) was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got it.’ And then I came from out of nowhere with my at-bats.”

Bay also watched teammate (and former Sox prospect) Freddy Sanchez win a batting with the Pirates in 2006, when he edged out Marlins masher Miguel Cabrera. Sanchez’ batting crown meant a lot to his teammates, and the same is true for Pedroia’s teammates on the Sox this year.

“(On Thursday), we all came in and were watching the Twins game. We were watching Mauer. All of us are (pulling) for Petey because he’s had an unbelievable year,” said Bay. “It’s pretty special, especially when you put in as much work as you do over an entire season and it comes down to percentage points on the last day.”

“Probably everyone else in here is pulling for him more than he’s pulling for himself,” said Bay. “He’s the type of go that, going for batting title or not, if he’s 0-for-5 and we win a game, he could care less.”

Perhaps that will change today. There is nothing at stake in the scheduled doubleheader between the Sox and Yankees. Boston knows its playoff fortune. Winning and losing, for a day, could take a back seat to individual accomplishment.

The other members of the Sox make no secret of the fact that they will watch, root and marvel at their teammate today. And maybe, for just a day, Pedroia will permit himself the chance to dwell on a personal milestone.

 “There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s aware of it, but he would never admit it,” said shortstop Jed Lowrie. “I think he has the same intentions. If the team is winning, then he’s playing well.

“But you’ve got to be thinking about getting hits. I’m sure that’s the approach he has every day, just hearing what he has to say every day. That’s the only thing he’s got in mind anyway.”

Alex Speier is a Senior Writer for WEEI.com.