PEDEY Wins AL MVP!!!!

From the Boston Globe, with my thanks...

AL Most Valuable Player: Dustin Pedroia

"Dustin Pedroia has collected his share of trophies and accolades this offseason, and this afternoon, the Red Sox' little second baseman claimed the biggest individual honor of all.
Pedroia was named the American League Most Valuable Player today, becoming the first Red Sox player to win the award since Mo Vaughn in 1995. He is the first Red Sox second baseman ever to win the award.
Minnesota's Justin Morneau was second, and Pedroia's teammate, Kevin Youkilis, finished third.
Pedroia, who won his first Gold Glove award earlier this offseason and also was chosen as the Silver Slugger award winner at second base, emerged as a franchise cornerstone and a true offensive force in his second full major league season.
The 2007 AL Rookie of the Year batted .326 with 17 home runs and 83 RBIs while establishing single-season franchise records by a second baseman for runs, hits, doubles, batting average, total bases, and extra-base hits.
The 25-year-old led the majors with 54 doubles, tied Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki for first with 213 hits, and ranked second with 118 runs and 61 multi-hit games, both AL highs. He also stole 20 bases in 21 attempts.
The argument can be made that it was one of the best seasons by a player at his position in recent history. Pedroia is the third major league second baseman ever to tally 100 runs, 200 hits, 50 doubles, and 20 steals in a season, joining the Yankees' Alfonso Soriano (2002) and the Astros' Craig Biggio (1998).
After a slow start -- he was batting .260 on June 13 -- the fiery Pedroia was consistently outstanding through the rest of the summer, but his MVP candidacy gained momentum during a late-season stretch when he seemed to singlehandedly carry the Sox.
During a five-game period when Youkilis was briefly sidelined, Pedroia batted cleanup and hit .667 (12 for 18) with four doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, and six runs scored. He batted .345 with an OPS of .949 in the second half, and in August and September, he batted a combined .353 with a .995 OPS.
Gold Glove awards aren't always the best indicator of good defensive play, but Pedroia truly did have an outstanding year with the glove. He made just six errors at second base, the same number of miscues he committed during his rookie season.
He finished second to Oakland's Mark Ellis in fielding percentage for AL players with at least 100 games at the position. His .992 was barely eclipsed by Ellis's .993, and it stands as the third-best percentage ever by a Red Sox second baseman, behind Mark Loretta (.994 in 2006) and Bobby Doerr (.993 in 1948).
Meanwhile, Youkilis finished sixth in the AL in batting (.312), sixth in on-base percentage (.390), third in slugging (.569), and fourth in OPS (.958). He ranked fourth in the league in RBIs (115) and fourth in extra-base hits (76), leading the Red Sox in both home runs (29) and RBIs"

WOW ! This is SUCH great news. Congrats, Pedey. This was the BEST news I wanted to hear!!