As the newest representative of SCEA's baseball franchise and face of MLB 09 The Show, Pedroia's duties include participation in the game's motion capture process, A.I. consultation, integration into all facets of the marketing campaign, and spokesperson for the franchise.

In his first year in the big leagues, Pedroia was named 2007 American League Rookie of the Year, receiving 24 of the possible 28 first place votes. Pedroia hit safely in 14 straight games, the longest batting streak for an AL rookie in 2007. Additionally he led all MLB rookies with a .317 batting average, a record for a rookie second baseman. Pedroia continued his strong play in the post-season, where he had a .283 batting average with 2 homers and 10 RBI while starting all 14 playoff games. Pedroia also has the fifth most playoff hits ever for a rookie and handled 53 chances without an error at second base, helping the Red Sox win their seventh World Series Title.

This past season, Pedroia was the first second baseman in nearly half a century to be named the AL MVP by hitting .326 with 17 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and 118 runs scored. He is the 10th player in the history of the Red Sox to capture the AL MVP and the 8th player in AL history to win the MVP, Gold Glove, and Silver Slugger awards in the same season. With his scrappy and aggressive approach, Pedroia has quickly become a fan favorite at Fenway Park, a truly historic and treasured stadium in one of baseball's most passionate cities.

"Dustin Pedroia has made a tremendous impact on an already storied Boston Red Sox organization and was an integral part to their 2007 World Series victory," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President, Product Marketing, SCEA. "We are excited to have him become part of our MLB franchise, represent MLB 09 The Show, and join the impressive roster of MLB stars who have served as previous cover athletes."

MLB 09 The Show is the first baseball game cover for Pedroia, who joins teammate and previous MLB cover athlete David Ortiz as the second Red Sox player to represent the franchise. Pedroia joins an elite cast of MLB cover athletes and spokespersons including Angels outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, New York Mets third baseman David Wright, Oakland A's third baseman Eric Chavez, Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus, New York Mets outfielder Shawn Green, and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn.

As Pedroia continues to establish himself as one of the most talented individuals to play the game, MLB 09 The Show is also building upon an already stellar reputation for authenticity and unparalleled playing experience. With several new key features and enhancements to the critically acclaimed title, MLB 09 The Show is poised to continue the franchise's reign as the premier MLB licensed game on any platform.

MLB 09 The Show continues to set itself apart from the other MLB games on the market with its attention to detail and unparalleled gameplay. Looking to build on that reputation, the game has added several new features and subtleties that play a huge role in bringing the baseball experience to life. Incredible stadium detail and signage, wear and tear on the field, dusk to night lighting transitions, and stadium JumboTron animations help immerse users in the ultimate baseball experience.

The popular "Road to the Show" feature returns, giving fans the chance to play offense and defense and truly immerse themselves in gameplay from a custom-created player's perspective. This year, Road to the Show includes interactive training and coaching as users navigate through a career that culminates with a shot at the big leagues. "Online Season Leagues" are also newly available, allowing fully functional drafts and providing players with a flex calendar to play games ahead in the schedule. Also back for PS3 and PlayStation 2 is "Franchise Mode," complete with the long anticipated 40-man roster. In Franchise Mode, fans must think and act like an owner while dealing with issues such as salary arbitration, waiver transactions, and September call-ups along the way. However winning games isn't the only thing that matters, as users must deal with clubhouse chemistry, roster management, and other issues that arise over the course of a season.

MLB 09 The Show brings back the ability to create custom music tracks using the "My MLB Music" feature. However for this year, players will be able to edit music tracks to assign batter walk-up tunes using the "Custom Music" feature. Additionally, fans can record their own customized chants and yells and integrate them seamlessly into the ambient crowd noise to create an even more personalized rivalry.

The popular "Pitcher/Batter Analysis" feature returns on MLB 09 The Show for PS3 and PSP, detailing the breakdown of how a batter has performed based on pitch type and result. The game offers up 17 different pitch types for players to master and MLB 09 The Show details the different pitch grips and arm angles that hitters must address. Players can also hone their skills using a wide variety of "Training/Practice" drills, with each set of drills focusing on a different area of the game. Utilizing the "Progressive Batting Performance" feature, players are rewarded for superior skills at the plate but are also penalized for hitting slumps.

Once users master the basics and create highlights of their own, they can save each dazzling play to the PS3 hard drive with the "Replay Vault" feature, where every key play in the field and clutch at-bat can be replayed at any time. Also new to the highlight system is "End of Game Replays" where users are given an instant post-game summary of the most exciting and important plays of the game.

For fans who want to take their game on the road, MLB 09 The Show for PSP delivers big baseball action in the palm of your hand by utilizing core gameplay features found on the PS3 version. Unique to PSP, MLB 09 The Show will feature "SportsConnect News2Go" which offers fans the ability to go online to select and save the latest news feeds to their Memory Stick Duo and review at their leisure.

Exclusive for PS2 is the unrivaled "Player Creator", providing users with endless possibilities for creating players, including everything down to their player's face with EyeToy. Users can also adjust their personal rituals, swings, and even emotions as they create and place themselves in the heat of a pennant race.

MLB 09 The Show, in development for PSP, PS2 and PS3, is due to hit stores in Spring 2009.