http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article....sp&c_id=bos</p> </p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>BOSTON -- Back on May 1, when Dustin Pedroia was hitting .182, it would have been hard to imagine that just a few months later that he'd be taking home an award for his excellence.</p> But Pedroia never lost confidence in himself, and neither did Red Sox manager Terry Francona.</p> The diminutive second baseman just kept swinging, and his determined approach culminated in the American League Rookie of the Year Award on Monday. Pedroia became the first Red Sox player to win the trophy since Nomar Garciaparra did so in 1997.</p> "I'm not too big on personal accomplishments; I just want to help my team win," Pedroia said. "There have been some great players to get this award, and it's definitely been such a fun and exciting year for me and my teammates. I'm so happy for the people that have stuck with me through this whole thing. You know -- Terry Francona, [general manager] Theo [Epstein], everybody in the front office. That first month was definitely tough on me. But I bounced through it, and it's definitely a huge accomplishment."</div></p> </p> well deserved</p>
