This past Monday, February 1, 2021, marked the final nail in the coffin for a time gone by, an era dominated by the clash of titans. You may not have noticed, in part because the era’s heyday has been almost a decade gone, having fallen prey to Boston’s “Chicken and Beer” collapse of 2011 and the calamity known as the 2013 Yankees. Despite this, however, its memory still hung around, clinging to the league by a thread — specifically, the cartilage in Dustin Pedroia’s left knee.
That time has come to an end, as the Boston second baseman announced his formal retirement from baseball, citing a knee injury that has caused him to play only 9 games from 2018-2019 and miss the entire 2020 season.