KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There was a familiar face in the Red Sox dugout Saturday as Dustin Pedroia, for the second straight day, was around the team before they faced the Royals. It turns out the visit wasn’t a coincidence.
Pedroia, his wife, Kelli, and the couple’s three sons live in Arizona, which is nowhere near Kansas City. So why were they at two straight Red Sox games in the middle of the country? It turns out the trip was purposeful.
“He called me last week,” said manager Alex Cora. “They had the weekend off as far as sports. He was like, ‘Want me to go to Kansas City?’ I was like, ‘It’s up to you. It’s your family.’ He came here with the boys. Just wanted to be around with Kelli, Mother’s Day. We had a good time yesterday with him. He’s around today.”
Pedroia has had no official role with the Red Sox since officially retiring in February 2021, but he has made a couple cameos at spring training and was in Boston last summer when he was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame. Cora, a close friend and former teammate of Pedroia’s, has said there’s an open invitation for him to be around the club at any time. Pedroia has put off getting back into baseball in an effort to coach his sons, who are 11, 12 and 15.
Pedroia saw an open date in his schedule and chose to go to a couple Red Sox games to be around the team. But there was another reason for the meeting. Pedroia’s first agent as a professional was Bobby Witt, the father of Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr., and Pedroia remembers being around the younger Witt when he was just a kid. It was something of a full-circle moment to come to Kansas City and reconnect with the reigning American League MVP runner-up.
“He wanted to see the Red Sox but they wanted to meet Witt, too,” said Cora. “It’s good for the kids. The kids know what’s going on. They know the good players and the bad managers.”
While with the club, Pedroia said, he took one batting practice swing and hit a line drive the other way. He also was offered to play a game of “flip” with players and coaches but after joking that he’d get a one-day contract if team officials saw him back with a glove on, invited one of his sons to join the team game. The Pedroia Experience was in full effect.
“Just to be around us, it means a lot to them and obviously, having him around is always cool,” Cora said.
