PAWTUCKET — Like so many former Pawtucket Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia couldn’t wait to return to McCoy Stadium this week.


 


Pedroia couldn’t wait to pull on a uniform, take his cuts in the batting cage, field grounders and use his infamous needle to poke and prod teammates, coaches and the many familiar faces he’s come across.


 


Basically he couldn’t wait to be Dustin Pedroia once again. [...]

Kevin McNamara

PAWTUCKET — Like so many former Pawtucket Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia couldn’t wait to return to McCoy Stadium this week.

 

Pedroia couldn’t wait to pull on a uniform, take his cuts in the batting cage, field grounders and use his infamous needle to poke and prod teammates, coaches and the many familiar faces he’s come across.

 

Basically he couldn’t wait to be Dustin Pedroia once again.

 

“I’ve always told him I wanted to manage him,” said PawSox manager Kevin Boles,” and he said 'Well, I wasn’t in the minor leagues very long.’ Now I can say I managed him.”

 

Nearly seven months removed from left knee microfracture and cartilage surgery, Pedroia eagerly arrived at McCoy on Monday for his first game action on what should be a short path back to Boston. He moved well around second base and hit the ball with that familiar major-league pop. He will play with the PawSox on their weekend trip to Rochester.

 

While he’d certainly rather be at Fenway Park, the 34-year-old was clearly excited about facing live pitching under the lights in Pawtucket. Considering what he’s been through the last several months in Fort Myers, Fla., it’s understandable. Life in what baseball people call "extended spring" can be hardball hell. This is where injured stars mix with green rookies and guys looking for reps in the lowest level of the minors. Games start at 10 a.m., just before temperatures start zooming through the 90s.

 

“It’s different, man. It’s been a long time. This whole process, it’s been hard,” he said. “I was in Florida for a month by myself in a hotel. … I’m excited to play baseball.”

 

No one knows which Dustin Pedroia the Red Sox will see in a week or two, but it’s clear what type of player he expects to be. Despite fighting through the toughest injury in his 12-year major-league career, Pedroia feels he can still provide the Laser Show that made him an MVP in 2008 and the acrobatic toughness at second base that’s won him four Gold Gloves.

 

More important, fighting back from this injury has helped him appreciate baseball even more. That’s what knee surgery in your mid-30s can do for your perspective.

 

“A lot of things have changed, my outlook on baseball and a lot of things,” he said. “I was in extended [spring training] playing 10 o’clock games in 100 degree weather. Everyone was like 'This sucks.’ I’m like, 'Man, this really doesn’t suck. You’re playing baseball. You should enjoy it. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like or the time. Somebody can take it away from you real quick and then you have to complain about something else.' "

 

Pedroia admitted that “some days [in Fort Myers] it was pretty tough,” strengthening his knee, but said he’s met the Red Sox’ physical goals for him with each passing week.

 

“I’m fine now. I don’t have any issues,” he said. “You’re going to see the same guy you’ve seen for so many years now.”

 

Pedroia took his share of cuts in Florida against Tommy Layne, the PawSox pitcher who’s also coming back from injury. He’d take six or seven at-bats in simulated games but “doubles with no outfielders like I’ve been hitting are kind of hard to judge.”

 

He’ll have a better read after his stint with Pawtucket, a place where he has some sweet memories. This is where he switched from shortstop to second base and showed he was capable of winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2007. His stay in Triple-A ended one summer night in Ottawa. He enjoyed a tight relationship with manager Ron Johnson, an affable sort who was the perfect mentor for a rising star who’d go on to have a similar relationship with Terry Francona in Boston.

 

“We’re playing a day/night doubleheader and R.J. didn’t play me in the second game. He told me I got benched,” Pedroia said. “I’m sitting there for nine innings thinking 'Man, what did I do?’ But I was getting called up.”

 

Pedroia became an instant fan favorite in Boston and he’s been the Red Sox dirt-dog poster boy for a decade now. He has two World Series rings (2007, '13) and still has four years left on an eight-year, $110-million contract. He’s grown from a youngster who watched his first born ride his Big Wheel around the Fenway concourse to a father of three and the veteran in the clubhouse.

 

With plenty of free time in Florida, Pedroia watched the Red Sox’ strong start closely. He enjoys texting his teammates but admits the team’s West Coast games “killed my sleep schedule.” On Monday night he couldn’t wait to race from McCoy to Fenway and catch the last two innings from the top step of the dugout.

 

Soon enough, Pedroia will replace Eduardo Nunez as the Sox’ regular second baseman. Maybe he’ll be the spark the team needs to dance with the Yankees all summer. In the meantime he’s the big man on campus back in Triple-A. After Monday's game, he splurged for steaks and lobster mac-n-cheese in the clubhouse from the Capital Grille. The fare after Tuesday's rainout looked promising as well.

 

"Tonight it’s all on the chef here,” he said. “He’s making prime rib so I told him 'It’s on you. Don’t mess this up. Don’t let me down.' ”

 

— kmcnamar@providencejournal.com

 

On Twitter: @KevinMcNamara33