After starting the 2007 season as a .172 hitter (through May 1), former Sun Devil Dustin Pedroia was no longer supposed to be the Boston Red Sox's new second baseman.
Then he led off the World Series with a home run over the very green monster that tried to swallow him whole just months before, and his team was no longer supposed to lose.
Pedroia, 24, was named the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year Monday, less than a month after helping the Red Sox win their second World Series title in four years.
He batted .317 during the regular season, primarily out of the leadoff position for perhaps the league's most potent offense.
Pedroia's ascension, though, was simply unexpected.
By the start of spring training, the Red Sox were still exploring all their options at second base to replace Mark Loretta, especially because Pedroia had batted .191 during his brief stay with the team in Aug. 2006. After Pedroia struggled early in 2007, the Fenway faithful clamored for utility man Alex Cora to get more at bats.
Even after a one for 28 slump in April, Manager Terry Francona stuck by the rookie.
"I think I was putting a little bit too much pressure on myself in April and trying to do too much to impress everybody," Pedroia said.
He batted .330 during the team's remaining 125 games.
One World Series title later, Pedroia collected 24 of a possible 28 first-place votes for his second achievement, the highest individual honor for a newbie. Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Delmon Young and Kansas City Royals pitcher Brian Bannister shared the remaining votes.
Pedroia became the fourth Sun Devil to win the award and the first Red Sox player since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997.
"This is definitely special," Pedroia said. "I never thought this would happen.
"The fans kind of took note that you don't have to be the biggest guy in the world to help your team win a World series."
At 5 feet 8 inches and 180 pounds, Pedroia has always been the proverbial underdog who sprints down the base paths and dives for the grounder up the middle. He said being a Sun Devil helped him realize he could do it on a bigger stage.
Enter ASU Manager Pat Murphy.
"Coming through this program, it definitely put a mindset in me that I can do this," Pedroia said. "It doesn't matter how big you are, or what kind of athlete you are. It's what kind of mental makeup you have."
Pedroia, a two-time All-American during his three years at ASU, collected 298 hits in 185 starts.
He said he often returns to take batting practice with former teammates such as Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier and to speak with Murphy.
As a second-round draft choice in 2004, he officially joined the Red Sox organization.
And after three years toiling in Augusta, Sarasota, Portland and Pawtucket, Pedroia found himself as a contending starting second baseman and leadoff hitter for Boston. He said being down three games to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series forced him and his teammates to deal with adversity.
But Pedroia had something of his own to counter: a cracked bone in his hand. The injury forced him to change his grip on the bat for the final month of the season. But that didn't stop him from helping his team win the World Series, in his rookie year no less.
"It's not easy being a rookie in Boston," he said. "To bounce back from that, especially in an environment like Boston (with) people pretty much ready to throw me off a bridge; but I fought through it.
"I overcame a lot of things, and I wasn't going to let one month stop me from being who I am."
Reach the reporter at: andrew.pentis@asu.edu.
