The Pedroia Effect

George Vecsey of the New York Times writes a modern tale from Spring Training. Ballplayers are slimming down. Uh, yes, we fans say. Perhaps the steroid scandal has something to do with that. And Vecsey, a wonderful old-pro sportswriter, knows that. But he talks to at least some players for whom beefy was never a goal. And he talks to a doc from the Mayo Clinic, which always gets my attention because of H’s connection, but this time holds it by mentioning great athletes of my youth, from Sandy Koufax the pitcher to Al Oerter the discus thrower. This year’s American League Most Valuable Player was Dustin Pedroia, 5'9", 180, the youngest player I’ve ever heard called “grizzled.” He deserves it.