LYNN — Dustin Pedroia assisted in a laser show, but this time he wasn’t wielding the bat.
The Boston Red Sox second-baseman led a batting clinic for the Lynn Wyoma Red Sox Little League team after winning Salem Five’s “Uncomplicate Hitting” video contest with more than 10,000 votes in June.
The team welcomed Pedroia to their home field with eyes wider than baseballs, roaring a series of chants to their distinguished guest.
“Who do we want?”
“Dustin!”
“When do we want him?”
“Now!”
Girls Incorporated started the event with the singing of “Take me out to the ballgame,” followed by the National anthem, and Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy delivering the first pitch.
After a series of stretches, the team took to the plate for soft toss with the MLB star many of the players look up to.
The 2008 Most Valuable Player has been Kaylee Dinicola’s role model for as long as she can remember. She wears the same number as the laser show star and was most excited to learn that he also played shortstop at one point, a position she also plays, she said.
Nine-year-old Thomas Ok smashed balls into the netting from Pedroia, cheering him on and giving him tips on how to improve his swing.
“Watching Pedroia on TV inspired me to join the baseball team when I was young,” he said.
Colin Newhall went above and beyond to celebrate Wyoma’s guest and got a specially designed haircut marked with a baseball and the number 15 on the side of his head.
Newhall got away with a free haircut after the barber at George’s in Lynn thought it was too good.
When asked if he was excited to see the second base star he said, “God yeah!”
Newhall, who started playing when he was 3 years old, has looked up to Pedroia since he watched him hit a homerun at Fenway Park, one of the first he remembers ever seeing, he said.
One of the Wyoma Red Sox coaches, Dario DiFilippo, said the opportunity to meet with a legend like Pedroia is a once in a lifetime chance.
“These kids love baseball and they love the Red Sox,” he said. “When they aren’t playing in a game, they are down here at the fields watching other kids play or they are in the stands at the North Shore Navigators game. Wherever baseball is being played, they are there.”
Although Mayor Kennedy had her Johnny Damon jersey on instead of Pedroia’s, she said the World Series star will impact the lives of the children forever after today.
“To have these kids be able to be in the presence of a Boston hero is incredible,” she said. “It is a moment they are going to remember for the rest of their lives.”
Pedroia, who admitted having to bounce straight to the game versus the Kansas City Royals while taking individual pictures with each player after the clinic, said he enjoys taking part in events with children in the communities of Boston.
“It’s fun being around the kids, hearing their questions and helping them with hitting,” Pedroia said between congratulating Wyoma players with fist-bumps and high fives. “Just being around them is fun.”
