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Amazing but true: Why Pedroia vs. Weaver at-bat was one of a kind 05.03.11 at 12:45 pm ET
By Alex Speier

Dustin Pedroia had an epic 13-pitch at-bat that ended in a two-run single to help the Sox beat the Angels, 9-5. (AP)

It was an at-bat for the ages.

Seem like hyperbole? It’s not. The 13-pitch at-bat between Dustin Pedroia and Jered Weaver that concluded with a two-run single was unlike any other on record at Fenway Park.

With an assist from Gary Marbry of Nuggetpalooza fame, some of the facts that made the at-bat so remarkable:

–Pedroia’s 13-pitch at-bat matched the longest of his career. His other at-bat of that length came in his third game in the majors, on Aug. 27, 2006, when Pedroia worked a 13-pitch walk against Cha-Seung Baek of the Mariners.

–Pedroia now has the only recorded hit on an at-bat of 13-plus pitches by a Red Sox at Fenway Park (with records of such things dating to the 1970s in baseball-reference.com). He became the first Red Sox since Damon Buford (in 1998) to record a hit in a plate appearance of 13-plus pitches. Since 1993, in fact, Sox hitters were 1-for-10 with five walks in plate appearances of 13-plus pitches.

–No hitter had ever gone to as many as 13 pitches in an at-bat against Weaver in his career.

–In 27 previous regular season and postseason at-bats between Pedroia and Weaver, no plate appearance had lasted more than eight pitches. In fact, only one plate appearance between the two had lasted more than six pitches.

–Pedroia entered the at-bat with abysmal career numbers against Weaver. Including his strikeout and groundout in his first two plate appearances on Monday, Pedroia was 3-for-24 with a line of .125/.222/.208/.450 against Weaver. He’d never before driven in a run against the right-hander.

–Pedroia was not alone in his futility against Weaver, however. Entering last night, Weaver had held right-handed hitters to the lowest average (.126), second-lowest OBP (.186), third-lowest slugging mark (.189) and second-lowest OPS (.375) of any pitcher in the American League (min. 50 PAs against by right-handed hitters).

–Weaver had previously engaged in 25 at-bats of 10-plus pitches in his career. Opponents were 2-for-20 with five walks and eight strikeouts in those situations, good for a line of .100/.280/.150/.430. He had never before allowed a run-scoring hit in such situations. The fact that he had issued just five walks might be the most remarkable element of his history in such battles — that means that he threw no fewer than four additional strikes after getting to two-strike counts.

–Until that at-bat, Weaver had thrown no more than nine pitches in any at-bat in 2011. In 14 plate appearances of seven or more pitches this year, opponents were 0-for-13 against Weaver with one walk.

–The Sox made Weaver throw 38 pitches in the one inning. He’s now thrown more than 20 pitches in eight innings this year; three of those came on Monday. Weaver had not been forced to throw as many as 38 pitches in an inning since the first inning of a game against the Orioles on Aug. 14, 2009.

–Pedroia now has 19 career plate appearances in which he’s seen at least 10 pitches. In those, he’s 5-for-13 with a homer (off then-Rangers closer Eric Gagne) and six walks, good for a line of .385/.611/.692/1.303.

In sum, it was a kind of irresistible force meets immovable object sort of showdown when Pedroia and Weaver did battle. And in the end, it would appear that the irresistible force prevailed.

“He has a way of doing that,” manager Terry Francona noted of Pedroia. “He fights. He doesn’t give in. I mean, not just at the plate, on the bases, in the field. He comes in and gets the double play ball or turns it into a double play ball. On the bases, he gets a great read. He plays the game. He’s a ballplayer.”

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  • Daniel

    It was a nice at bat, but it’s only being magnified because it happened in Boston. If it had happened in Cleveland, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, or South Florida nobody would know or care.

  • http://Enteryourwebsite... Looee in Meffaa

    Dude, if a former ROY & MVP took the dominant pitcher of the year to the most pitches he’s thrown & then RBI’d, that would be news in any market. Kudos to the smallest guy in the line-up, btw. GO PEDROIA!!

  • Rob

    Reminds me of the epic Alex Cora 18 pitch AB that ended in a HR in 2004 v. Matt Clement and the Cubs.

  • Aashish Sharma

    This is up there with Coco’s ten-pitch AB in Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS where he hit an RBI single to drive in Kotsay and tie the game in the 8th..

  • joker

    Let’s now get carried away. it was a single up the middle, its not the world series. The guy is batting .266 wasn’t he a little over due anyway? Crawford the other night gets a single and you think by the reaction they won the world series. Crawford has been a stiff all year so far, so he singles in the winning run, which by the way should have never happened if not for the dropped fly ball in right. Be excited all you want Red Sox nation you have no bullpen what so ever. Wheeler? do you really want to see him come in with the game on the line? Jenks? How about him? Okajima how about him? There is so much pressure on the starter’s to pitch a lot of innings it will come back late in the year to bury this team

  • jokersana$$

    go talk your bullshit somewhere else. red sox site for red sox nation gtfo.

  • babe ruth

    Red Sox nation? What is that? A bunch of loser’s who talk about the 2 championships they won in 89 years!!! Or is it a bunch of guys sitting around wishing they had 27 world series titles like the Yankees. It must be pretty bad to know that the sox will never ever come close to the success of the team of the century.

  • bugrad10

    ya who gives a fk up 27 titles…most of those were won before you were born so we dont care…take them all and shove em up your arse

  • BoSox Fan 1950

    If we can all ignore the vitriolic, verbal vomit from some posters and address the issue of the article, it WAS one of a kind and had it happened elsewhere, small market or no, it would be news. Big sports news, and deservedly so. Rare occurrence for the smallest guy on the field to stand that tall against a “big,” dominant pitcher and clean the pitcher’s clock after fouling off 9 in a 13-pitch at bat.
    Did anyone note the look of complete surprise on Weaver’s face as he flailed weakly at the hit as it screamed past him, behind him? My guess is he wasn’t expecting to lose that battle. But he did. Big time. Hence, the notoriety garnered by the event. WTG, Pedey!

  • Dino

    Yeah, let’s ignore the vitriolic vomit and reflect for a moment upon the greatest comeback in sports history–the 2004 AL championship series! Much like Pedroia’s at bat that series showed a never-say-die attitude as the Sox fought back and sent the ______(insert name here)______ /losers home to whine about their little wins a long, long time ago.

  • Robert

    This show’s that the Sox achilles heal is left handed pithing. Even the average ones like Vargas beat them. On the other hand, they can beat the best righthanders.

  • Robert

    Yankee fans should forget about the 20th century. This is the 21st, and the Sox lead, 2 to 1.

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