Rival Review: Second Base

Robinson Cano vs. Dustin Pedroia

If you have a lot freckles and watch most baseball games in an alcohol induced blackout, rambling aimlessly about what a good pick-up Mike Cameron was, you probably think Dustin Pedroia is the greatest thing to ever happen to the Boston Red Sox. He is the face of baseball, or at least the only face you can still remember with any clarity. He's won an MVP. He's won two World Series. And he's only 5'8", so you're not quite as emasculated by him as you are by every other ball player.

Last year, Robinson Cano had a breakout season. Not so much because he performed in a manner superior to previous seasons (if anything, he was less disciplined at the plate than the year before), but because his performance in the Home Run Derby established him as one of the game's brightest stars. He also, it turns out, is king of Taiwan. A fact few people knew.

But how do these two second basemen stack up against each other? Cano has unusual range for a second baseman. Pedroia also has unusual range, but with a less impressive qualifier: for a guy who's 5'8". It has always been said that Pedroia plays hard, while Cano was thought to cruise through his first few Major League seasons purely on talent and minimal effort.

That, however, couldn't be further from the truth. Cano is one of the hardest workers in the game, while Pedroia gave Jon Lester cancer. The edge, therefore, goes to Cano in the battle of the second basemen.