FORT MYERS, Fla. -- About four weeks into his offseason workouts, Dustin Pedroia had an epiphany.

He had already won a Gold Glove and American League MVP while adding a $40 million contract to the mix. But, as Pedroia is often quick to acknowledge, every little bit of motivation goes a long way.

“I watched a lot of motivational movies,” he said. “But what was huge was when about four weeks into my workout, one of my buddies downloaded (professional wrestling icon) Ric Flair’s greatest moments. So we were sitting there watching it and Rick Flair goes, ‘If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.’ I’m sitting there thinking, ‘That’s my calling. That stuff was awesome.’ That put me over the top.”

It didn’t stop there.

Pedroia went online to Hulk Hogan’s web site and ordered a red t-shirt with yellow lettering that screamed, “Hulkamania.” Every Friday — the heaviest lifting day at Pedroia’s daily workout destination, Athletes’ Performance — the second baseman would walk in and repeat the credo started by Hogan, but carried on by the MVP and his former college teammate, Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier.

“Hanging and banging down at Venice Beach,” said Pedroia, reciting the slogan. “It was sick.”

For many who had been showered with the accolades Pedroia soaked in this offseason, keeping the eye on the prize might be appreciably more challenging. Yet a reminder that Reds manager Dusty Baker offered to Pedroia’s father on a flight paved the way for the proper focus.

“Dusty Baker ran into my dad and told him, ‘Hey, when Dustin goes on those award things make sure he brings his running shoes,’” said Pedroia. “That kind of stuck with me. I understand I have to do this stuff, but I have to make sure my workout remains my priority. This year I had to make sure I was working out even more to have an even better season. This was the most I’ve worked out in an offseason.

“I’m pretty motivated. I don’t have to hit snooze on my alarm anytime. Once my alarm goes off at 6:45, I’m up. I don’t have to do that stuff. But I think when you’re one game away from the World Series, I don’t care if we’ve won it the year before, nobody should be satisfied with winning just one. There are a lot of things that motivate me. I take bits and pieces from a lot of places. I don’t really care what I do, I care about what we do.”

And then there is the matter of those trophies Pedroia collected before ultimately receiving his most valued offseason present — a Ric Flair video downloaded onto his PlayStation.

“I’ll be honest with you, that’s just stuff that is clogging up my house,” he said regarding his awards. “I would rather have a ring to share with my teammates because there were guys on last year’s team who haven’t won a ring. I want more of it, everybody on this team wants more of it. That’s all we play for. I don’t care about myself, personally. I want what we do to be special.”

And after all of it — the t-shirt, the wrestling videos, the doubters — a small sign that Pedroia’s momentum wasn’t going to be letting up appeared. While in San Diego to demonstrate his mannerisms for “MLB 09 The Show,” Pedroia got a chance to play the game for the first time. Hitting as himself, Pedroia went up against the newly anointed Yankees ace, CC Sabathia. The result? An opposite field home run.

Pedroia stopped playing. It was his offseason walk-off.

Rob Bradford is the site editor for WEEI.com. He can be reached at rbradford@weei.com.