Scrappy

Dustin Pedroia was given the AL MVP earlier today. Naturally, as a Red Sox fan I was happy, but I wasn't originally going to write anything about him, 'til I thought of how perfectly Pedroia's play goes with the scout oath's opening line..."On my honor I will do my best".

This is possibly the most contested choice of all the postseason awards, but I don't mean this post to be a Red Sox fan's defense of his beloved shortstop. Instead I just want to simply highlight some of the things that make Pedroia a great player from a scouter's perspective.

There is a common perception that people "do their best" because they can't do things well. In some cases this is true. One of the greatest things I think I ever learned in scouts was that my "best" was always more than expected and would always lead me to success. Pedroia is the perfect example of this. His position as a leader on his team is mainly due to the constant effort he provides. And this effort has paid off in production as well.

Pedroia proves that effort is essential to leadership. So many times leadership is perceived as delegation, and while leaders inevitably have to be able to delegate, the ability to delegate or the charisma to convince someone else to do the work will always fall short. There is something endearing in public figures that seem to put so much effort into whatever they do, and Pedroia is rightly considered one of the best role models for young athletes.

Finally, a note on the general use of the phrase "do your best". Like the words "I love you," this phrase can be easily overused. Pedroia's effort has separated him from most others in baseball, but he also makes a great effort to better his team off the field. And if you don't believe it's about the team, consider that he gave back his last two years of college scholarship at Arizona State, so that his coach could recruit more pitching prospects (oh by the way, he started every game and batted .384 overall), according to a Sept. 28th article in the Boston Globe. As opposed to athletes like ex-footballer Tiki Barber or Pedroia's ex-teammate Manny Ramirez, Pedroia has shown that he will always be working toward the success of the team.