Dustin Pedroia announced his retirement from major league baseball today at age 37 after a couple years of struggling with rehabbing injuries that kept him out of the sport. At the start of my ad career, I worked with a lot of athletes from New England Sports teams which was a role that sounds fun for a young man out of college until I realized that it was not appealing. It was odd hours for low pay and working with people that I didn’t have a ton in common with outside of sports. However, of all the players I came into contact with, Dustin was the one that I got along with the best to the point where I considered him a friend.
We’re around the same age and his personality was similar to what I was used to; Dustin didn’t have a filter and was very candid and funny with his perspectives. In an industry where people are careful in what they say, Dustin really was not. Dustin didn’t hide behind masks or rhetoric or handlers and every encounter I had with him was genuine and usually funny.
We went to the 2007 AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers at Gillette stadium in the frigid temperatures and, though we were just sat in the lower level sideline as opposed to a private luxury box, it wasn’t until half time before anyone in our section noticed that they were sitting with the season’s MLB AL Rookie of the Year. That’s how well he blended in. When people finally noticed Dustin sitting in section 110, he was gracious and approachable; even going as far as to traverse two rows below us to take a photo with an older Sox fan.
When working on commercial shoots, I spent hours with Dustin either throwing a baseball or playing pass with a football – a part of my job was to bring things to keep the shoot “loose”. During these long stretches of downtime, Dustin would tell stories, like how his High School QB career was cut short by a Tank Johnson sack, while making me dive for long passes in khaki pants. Dustin would also get on my case about any dropped passes or errant throws; I often reminded him that sports were his job and something I mainly watched on TV.
We worked on one photo shoot in Arizona on my birthday and Dustin and his wife Kelli (an amazing person) came to the set with a cake for me. It was a cool surprise and meant a lot to me that this star athlete and his wife would acknowledge my birthday while I was out of state and away from my friends and family.
His work ethic was second to none back then, Dustin was an early adopter of the Athletes Performance Center’s training methods and nutrition, so I know this retirement cannot have been an easy decision for him. I wish him success in whatever he chooses to do next.
Me on set with Dustin Pedroia and his wife back in 2009
L U K E 