Dustin Pedroia will be featured on the cover of the next issue of Sports Illustrated as the "heart" of the Red Sox.
In the story by Tom Verducci, Pedroia reveals, among other things, how his latest nickname came to be.
Pedroia says his latest moniker, the Muddy Chicken, came about during the postgame meal following Bostons 10, 16-inning win over Tampa Bay in June:
David Ortiz was eating this chicken from the Dominican Republic," he told SI. "I dont know who he got it from. But it was bleeping disgusting. So I said, I want to be called that.Bleeping Muddy Chicken. They started laughing, so they started calling me that. And it was a 16-inning game, and I think there were some cocktails involved in some peoples interviews. Thats basically it. And then we got back home and, thanks to New Balance, there are boxes of Muddy Chicken T-shirts. Im like, Whats wrong with you guys?
Pedroia also gets some backhanded praise from White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen:
I love that little guy," Guillen tells SI. "It looks like he escaped from Cirque du Soleil and they put a uniform on him.