Do you know me?

Photo from the Boston Globe Archives

You’re going to find this hard to believe, since no one except this guy has mentioned it this week, but I won the Rookie of the Year award AND the AL MVP award back in 1975.  That’s right, I won them both in the SAME FREAKING SEASON.  But has anyone discussed that this week?  No.  All we keep reading about is how Cal Ripken, Jr., Ryan Howard and now Dustin Pedroia (good kid, by the way, I’m very happy for him) are the only MLB players to win Rookie of the Year and follow it up with the MVP award.  Can you believe that shit?

Go ahead and Google me…you’ll see.  I’ll wait.

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Good, you’re back.  So what did you see?  You didn’t find any recent articles mentioning my Rookie of the Year and MVP award in the same year did you?  What the hell is up with that?

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I also won the Gold Glove in 1975?  Mmmhmmmm.  I did.  Probably would have won the damn Silver Slugger too if it existed in ’75.  (And, lest you forget, I was on the All Star team that year too.  Damn straight.)

Hey, I’m not here to take attention away from Dustin Pedroia.  Pedie is an ass-kicker of the highest degree.  Kid deserves every award and accolade thrust upon him.  But, seriously, WTF?  If it’s such a big deal to get these awards in consecutive years, think about how friggin’ hard it was to get them both in the same season.  It wasn’t a damn cakewalk people, I busted my ass.  And I was TWENTY-THREE years old!  Two years younger than Pedroia when he won the MVP, FIVE years younger than Howard when he got HIS MVP and the same age as Cal Ripken, Jr when he got his.  It wasn’t a fluke, it wasn’t an easy road and it gets me a little cranky when people conveniently FORGET that it even happened.

I’m not asking for a lot, folks.  Just a little recognition.  Don’t be so mesmerized by what’s happening now that you forget what’s happened before, peeps.

In closing, I’d like to congratulate Dustin Pedroia on his accomplishments.  Does me proud to see the Red Sox developing players like him from within.   And if you’re so inclined, check out my website and learn a little something about the past.

PS:  This guy says “hi” too.