FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jose Iglesias basically attended a four-day seminar with Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia in the offseason. If this exercise had been held with self-help guru Tony Robbins, Iglesias would have spent a fortune, but this was free, a chance to pick the brain of a former Most Valuable Player in an effort to find some morsel that will make him a regular major leaguer sooner rather than later.
“He gave me some great advice that I’m following through on,” said Iglesias, a 23-year-old shortstop. “I’m very close to Pedey and when he talks, I listen because he’s had to make adjustments in his career to get to where he is now. He understands what it takes and he understands because he didn’t start out so good in the big leagues, but he got better and now he’s the best.”
Comments
The Pedroia comp overlook one important thing. In 1200 minor league plate appearances, Pedroia never had a full-season OPS less than .810, with a minor league career of .844. In 1000 minor league plate appearances, Iglesias's HIGHEST full-season OPS is .719 with a minor league career of .626. Would it hurt you to do a little research? We get it, Nick. Your dream is to have Bobby Valentine managing the team with Iglesias at SS and Josh Hamilton in RF, even though both players stand a higher than average chance of being out of baseball in 2 years.
I wish this kid Iglesias nothing but the best of luck. Seems like a very decent young man who works hard. If his offense can improve it will be an interesting ss scenario. Remember when in the beginning of 07 Prdroia couldn't hit a beach ball and the RS fan base was calling for his demotion. Credit Francona for steadfastly sticking with him. Good