Posted by Rob Bradford

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia confirmed that he had received word Wednesday afternoon that he was the winner of the 2008 Rawlings American League Gold Glove for his position. Pedroia’s reported that his first two calls upon learning the news were to former Sox infield/first base coach Luis Alicea and fellow infielder Alex Cora. The second-year major leaguer led all American League second baseman who played more than 115 games with a .992 fielding percentage, making six errors in 733 chances.

The news was first leaked out publicly on the Sporting Goods News Wire.

“I really didn’t think about it,” he said of winning the award. “I take pride in my defense, it’s a huge part of my game. In fact, my biggest (priority) is defense. I need to be extremely important to our pitching staff. I put in a ton of time with Luis Alicea and Alex Cora from Day One. It’s only my second year playing second base. I took extra ground balls every single day and it definitely paid off.”

Pedroia was the only member of the Red Sox to earn Gold Glove status, with last year’s winner at first base, Kevin Youkilis, being replaced by this season’s recipient, Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena. Major League Baseball’s official announcement will take place at 4 p.m.

Pedroia, who began his workouts two days after the completion of the season with Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, also credited his diligence last offseason at Athletes Performance with his success in the field throughout the 2008 campaign.

“I got a lot faster in the offseason,” he said. “I put in the time, did all the cardio workouts, speed work, and agility. That really paid off where my range got a lot better and my arm strength got better. I’m not the biggest guy in the world but I can make up with effort in the offseason.”

As for his thoughts on the Red Sox deciding not renew the contract of Alicea, Pedroia would only say, “He’s helped me out a ton. I definitely wouldn’t be a Gold Glove winner if he wasn’t part of it.”