Table of Content
- After Carlos Correa debacle, who could the SF Giants target to salvage this offseason?
- Professional career
- INSIDE THE DODGERS NEWSLETTER
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- Los Angeles Dodgers (2014–
- San Francisco Giants (2022–present)
- Correa’s agent Boras provides more damning details how deal with SF Giants fell apart
- San Francisco Giants
In the 11th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, Pederson was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He had committed to play at the University of Southern California, where his father played college baseball, but Joc chose instead to sign with the Dodgers. The bonus was the second-highest given to any draft pick the Dodgers signed that year, and it was four times the amount typically given to players drafted after the fifth round.
The son of former MLB player Stu Pederson, Joc was drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB draft out of Palo Alto High School. By virtue of his Jewish heritage, he played for the Israel national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He was ranked the Dodgers' top prospect by Baseball America after the 2013 season. In 2014, he was named the Pacific Coast League Most Valuable Player after hitting 30 home runs and stealing 30 bases, and he made his major league debut that September.
After Carlos Correa debacle, who could the SF Giants target to salvage this offseason?
On July 17, Pederson recorded his first hit as a Brave, a two-run home run in the fourth inning, against Tampa Bay Rays' rookie Josh Fleming. The Dodgers won the NL West for the sixth year in a row, putting Pederson in the playoffs for his fourth straight year. In Game One of the 2018 NLDS, Pederson hit a first pitch leadoff home run against Mike Foltynewicz of the Braves in a 6–0 victory. He had hits in each of the other games of the series, which the Dodgers won in four games. In the NLCS, he had three hits in 13 at bats as Los Angeles defeated the Brewers in seven games. That was Los Angeles's only victory of the series, as they fell to the Red Sox in five games.
He had 58 RBIs and 10 outfield assists in 123 games during the season, usually batting in the leadoff spot. Pederson earned postseason All-Star honors, was a Topps Double-A All Star, and was a Baseball America Minor League All Star. He then played winter ball for the Cardenales de Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he had a .439 on-base percentage. He was ranked the Dodgers' # 1 prospect by Baseball America after the 2013 season.
Professional career
On Pederson's playoff success, Dodgers starting pitcher Alex Wood quipped, "They call it 'Joctober' for a reason." Pederson had seven hits in 18 at bats in that series. In Game 5 of the 2020 World Series, Pederson hit the fifth home run of his World Series career, a second-inning solo shot against Tyler Glasnow that prove to be the winning margin of victory in Los Angeles's 4–2 triumph. Max Muncy noted that "The guy performs on the huge stage. This is just what he does." In the World Series, Pederson had four hits in 10 at bats as the Dodgers won the championship. Pederson agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the Dodgers for 2019, avoiding salary arbitration. He platooned in left field with Chris Taylor, though Pederson would finish the year with a career-high 450 at bats. On May 14, Pederson hit his 100th career home run against San Diego Padres starting pitcher Chris Paddack.
The Braves went on to win the 2021 World Series, making Pederson the ninth player in Major League history to win back-to-back World Series with different teams. Despite losing his starting role late in the 2015 season, Pederson began 2016 as the Dodgers' center fielder once again, though he would serve in a platoon role, mainly playing against right-handers. J. Achter on May 17 in a 5–1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels. Against the Diamondbacks on June 14, he hit two solo home runs against Archie Bradley in a 7–4 victory. On July 29, he hit a two-run home run against Daniel Hudson and had four RBIs in a 9–7 victory over the Diamondbacks.
INSIDE THE DODGERS NEWSLETTER
In 2013, Pederson received a promotion to the Class AA Chattanooga Lookouts in the Southern League, starting the season as the youngest member of the team and the second-youngest position player in the league. Pederson was selected to play for the United States at the All-Star Futures Game, and was also selected to play in the Southern League All-Star Game. He hit .278 while leading the league with a .497 slugging percentage. Pederson also finished second with 22 home runs and 81 runs scored; third with 31 stolen bases, a .381 on-base percentage, and an .878 OPS; and fifth in walks.
He batted second for Team Israel, and hit .308 with three steals. Pederson started all three games of the qualifier in right field. During the first game, Pederson went 1 for 5 with two strikeouts and left three runners on base.
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Though still used primarily as a corner outfielder, he began getting a few starts at designated hitter as the NL implemented the position for the first time that season. In the second game of a doubleheader against the Padres on August 5, he hit two home runs and had five RBIs in a 7–6 Dodger triumph. For the second year in a row, Pederson reached the playoffs as the Dodgers clinched their fourth straight NL West title. In the third inning of Game 4 of the 2016 NLDS against the Nationals, Pederson had a painful RBI, driving in a run when Joe Ross hit him with a pitch with the bases loaded. Pederson later had an RBI double in the fifth inning against Reynaldo López, and the Dodgers won 6–5.
He also played for the school's football team, leading it with 30 receptions in his senior year, for 650 yards and 9 touchdowns. Pederson was the team's number one wide receiver, racking up more yards and touchdowns than his teammate, future NFL two-time All Pro First Team wide receiver Davante Adams, who was a Junior at the time. Through 2021, he had a .501 career slugging percentage against right-handed pitching, and since his first full season in 2015, he ranked 5th among NL outfielders in home runs , and 7th in walks . He had played 412 games in center field, 229 games in left field, 54 games in right field, and 20 games at first base. Then in Game 2 of the 2021 National League Championship Series, Pederson hit a two-run home run against three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, as the Braves came from behind to beat the Dodgers 5–4. With 12 playoff home runs, Pederson tied Hall of Famer Yogi Berra for 24th on the all-time list.
His home run against Max Scherzer in the seventh inning of Game 5 forced Scherzer from the game and opened the scoring for the Dodgers, who won 4–3 to advance to the NL Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs. In Game 3 of the NLCS, he had an RBI single against Mike Montgomery and scored a run as the Dodgers beat the Cubs 6–0. He had four hits in 21 at bats in the series, scoring three runs, but the Dodgers fell to the Cubs in six games. Batting .230 with 20 home runs before the All-Star Game, he would only hit six in the second half of the season, batting .178 for the remainder of the season. On August 23, Pederson lost his starting center fielder job due to his extended slump.
A Brewers fan behind home plate started heckling Pederson, who had previous stops with the Dodgers, Cubs and Braves. San Francisco Giants' Joc Pederson hits a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, April 25, 2022, in Milwaukee. San Francisco Giants' Joc Pederson is congratulated after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, April 25, 2022, in Milwaukee. San Francisco Giants' Joc Pederson reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Monday, April 25, 2022, in Milwaukee. Pederson was up for it, as he hit 29 homers to send the round into a tie, something that had never happened before in home run derby history.
Pederson had wanted more money, but he chose to accept their offer because he realized "My dream — my big dream — was to become a star in the big leagues." Stu played in eight games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1985, and spent 12 years in Minor League Baseball. He is Jewish by birth, and is eligible because he is Jewish to play for the Israel national baseball team, which he has done. Pederson's Jewish maternal great-great-great-grandfather and great-great-great-uncle immigrated to the United States in the 1840s, and were charter members of synagogue Temple Emanuel in San Francisco. His great-great-grandfather Leopold Cahn (born in 1864; son of Israel Cahn, a wool merchant), great-grandmother Zelda Sugarman , and great-great-grandmother Fannie Morris were born in San Francisco.
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Joc's older brother, Tyger, played baseball for the University of the Pacific, and then played second base in the Dodgers minor league system. Joc's eldest brother, Champ, has Down syndrome and sometimes stays with him during the season. His younger sister, Jacey, is an elite national amateur soccer player who played forward on the US Under-17 and Under-19 Women's National Soccer Teams and has played for the UCLA Bruins women's soccer team. Through 2021, Pederson was second among Jewish baseball players in career home run frequency , ninth in career home runs , and tenth in career slugging percentage .
He hit solo home runs against Tom Koehler and Brian Ellington on September 10 in a 5–0 victory over the Miami Marlins. On July 15, 2021, Pederson was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor league prospect Bryce Ball. Atlanta had just lost superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. to a long-term ACL injury, and Pederson stepped into Acuña Jr.'s positions of right field and leadoff hitter.
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