While the Red Sox front office didn’t make any momentous, franchise-altering splashes this offseason after a winter spent chasing after a big fish first baseman, the winds of change are nonetheless blowing hard through the home clubhouse along Yawkey Way.
The winter signing of Kevin Youkilis to a four-year, $41 million extension with an option for a fifth season could take him through the 2013 season, and served as the second Sox bookend along with a six-year Dustin Pedroia pact signed in November that could take him up to 2016.

Both contracts were nothing short of significant for an Olde Towne Team that’s worked diligently to become a drafting and player development machine. Youkilis and Pedroia represent everything that’s gone inarguably right for the Sox over the last six years both on the field and in the front office -- and now the homegrown Sox superstars will be suiting up for the long haul.

Both players have clearly shown their talent on the field in finishing first (Pedroia) and third (Youkilis) in the AL MVP voting during the past season, and the duo has displayed selfless leadership off the field, as well, in agreeing to contracts that were both club-friendly and security-driven.

Both young players were obviously seeking some sense of financial security as they toil their way up the baseball pay scale, but clearly surrendered some money at the negotiating table in locking themselves up as members of the Sox for the next five years.

Pedroia said that he wanted to be with the Sox for a “long time” and Youkilis made the pronouncement that he hopes to someday retire wearing Red Stockings in Boston – a rarity in this day and age of free agency that a player would even consider suiting up for only one team.

“I know that if I would have gone year to year, yes, I would probably have made a lot more money. I understand that without a doubt,” said Pedroia, echoing the same sentiments that Youkilis did a month later. “But I'm here in a place that I love, my family loves it. They treat us unbelievable. It's like a family here. I'm happy with this. I'm extremely excited, my wife's excited, my parents, they're ecstatic. . . . I want to be here. I want to play for the Red Sox and I don't want to play for anybody else. So it just seemed right to do something.”

With both players now clearly established as unmovable forces in the locker room, the mantle of leadership appears to be getting handed down to the next generation of Red Sox players.  The right side of Boston’s infield -- and key cogs in Boston’s offensive machine -- inked significant deals with the Olde Towne Team and immediately transformed from up-and-coming ballplayers to franchise building blocks.

The transformation from whippersnapper ballplayer to franchise player/cornerstone leader has been stunning for the 25-year-old Pedroia, who just three years ago was an undersized infielder struggling in his September cup of coffee with the major league club.
Pedroia continued to hear the catcalls of “too small” and “too big of a swing” when he stumbled out of the gate during the month of April in his rookie season, but he’s answered all questions in snagging the AL Rookie of the Year Award and AL MVP in back-to-back years.

Some have deemed it the best two year start for any player in the history of the Sox franchise, and no less an authority than Sox Captain Jason Varitek stated last season that the Little Second Baseman That Could will be the next Boston player to wear the ‘C’ on his jersey.

“Dustin plays hard, first and foremost, all the time,” said Sox GM Theo Epstein. “He plays to win. He plays for his teammates, not for himself. He's the type of player that he's not motivated by money. He's motivated by championships. He's prepared, he takes care of himself, he's professional . . . he's kind of everything you look for.

“He's a leader in the clubhouse, I think he's a leader on the field with the way he approaches the game, and he's really talented and helps us win every night,” added Epstein. “If we had 25 guys like this we'd be in good shape. I don't think we'd be the Red Sox right now without Dustin Pedroia."

Youkilis took a more deliberate path to the big leagues as he shuttled back and forth in 2004 and 2005 as a young third baseman trying to break into a veteran team, but patience paid off when he switched over to first base in 2006 following Kevin Millar’s departure.

Youkilis won a Gold Glove and put up respectable offensive numbers in 2007, but he simply exploded for a .312 batting average, 29 home runs and 115 RBIs while establishing himself as a middle-of-the-order slugger during the 2008 season. The young Sox corner man was an untested player learning from veterans when he first emerged on the Fenway scene – and as such didn’t throw in his two cents much during team meetings in his first few seasons – but the 29-year-old’s intensity and commitment to winning now make him a vital part of Boston’s clubhouse personality.

“We always have meetings before spring training and Tito [Francona] and Theo sit down with every player. The past two years they’ve always told me, ‘You’re putting yourself in a situation where you’re going to have to be a leader and you’re going to have to do stuff on the field,” said Youkilis. “And to me it never bothered me one bit. I’ve always felt that I’ve never had enough time [in the big leagues] playing with guys who are veterans along the way. But now it’s starting, you get a little more time, you start understanding that there are young guys who need your help along the way.

“You have to be a good leader to those guys and help them because it’s not an easy road or path. It’s tough for some guys coming in for their first full season. I remember my first full season how tough it was physically and mentally,” added Youkilis. “It’s an honor to be one of the leaders of the Red Sox. And I think that’s the greatest thing, that we have a bunch of guys that come together and will lead this team in times of need. And that’s how we get out of funks. We have a lot of guys who are willing to step up and do whatever they can to win ballgames.” 

Setting the necessary tone and example needed in a baseball clubhouse requires leverage, clout and the heavy mantle of leadership, and with a few strokes of the pen this winter both Youk and Pedey signed on for all of those things and much, much more. The Sox duo are now the poster boys for everything Boston have done letter-perfectly in their player development system, and everything Sox management continues to strive for peeking forward into the organization’s horizon.

“Kevin and Dustin have both been held out by us internally as models, as model Red Sox, as what you want a Red Sox player to be. For instance, in our rookie development programs we’ve probably mentioned Kevin and Dustin dozens and dozens of times,” said Sox GM Theo Epstein. “[Things like] how to play the game, how to be a good teammate, different ways to get to the big leagues. We’ve cited Kevin’s patience and perseverance and his development path to the big leagues.

“And now with these contracts, it’s fair for us to hold them up as models externally as well,” added Epstein. “I think it means more as an organization when you put your money where your mouth is, when you have guys who play the game well, who play it the right way and come through the system to reward them if it makes sense. And now we’re proud that we can hold these guys up both inside the organization and to the outside world as models.”

While the Sox team will be taking on a familiar look this spring as they ready for another run at a World Series title, make no mistake that this winter’s signings have nudged both Youkilis and Pedroia to the new forefront of Boston’s hopes, dreams and expectations for this season and far beyond.

 

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