Dustin Pedroia Praises Tom Brady For Career Longevity, Continued Success – NESN.com

Following David Ortizs retirement, Dustin Pedroia seemingly has become the elder statesman of the Boston Red Sox.

The four-time MLB All-Staris heading into his 12thseason with the Red Soxand will be leading a team made up of mostly younger players.

Pedroia enters the 2017 campaign at 33 years of age, long removed from his days as a big league up-and-comer. However, he hopes to keep playing at a high level for a number of years, and apparently has taken tips from a fellow New England athlete on how to do so.

Speaking on WEEIs BradfoShow, Pedroia praised New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his unprecedented longevity and approach to improving at his craft.

I understand what he does and know what he does. I think its awesome, Pedroia told Bradford, as transcribed by WEEI.com. Theres a reason why hes successful at his age, and he looks better now than he did when he first came to the league. You have to be smarter as you get older and learn different styles the way to train and the way you take care of your body to be able to perform and stay on the field. It doesnt matter what sport youre playing. Hes definitely got that figured out.

Pedroia divulged into how training changes as an athlete gets older, and how attention to detail is critical.

There aretons of ways to take care of your body, he said. Its not just get in the weight room and throw weights around. As you get older, the human body cant take the pounding if youre going in there and power lifting. When youre younger, you can handle some of that. But as you get older, you got to be smarter. Sometimes less is more whether thats weight or reps or whatever. Youve just got to be smart. And eating wise, thats a big part of recovery. If you put the right foods in your body, youll heal faster if youre injured or recover faster.

Boston fans surely are hoping that the Red Sox can cap off their 2017 season the same way the Patriots did in Super Bowl LI.

Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images

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Dustin Pedroia Praises Tom Brady For Career Longevity, Continued Success - NESN.com