There were rough patches, sure, and only true Sox fans stuck with the gritty second baseman when he was hitting a buck-fifty and looking like an overmatched high schooler. But then Dustin Pedroia started to do what Red Sox brass swore he could always do – hit – and with that big ol’ swing and by ignoring all the cynics out there who called him too this or too that, the kid became a ballplayer. Oh, and Rookie of the Year, too.