SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Five months after reaching his dream of getting selected in the MLB Draft, Joc Pederson headed up the 101 to Market Street with his friends.
Pederson, then a senior at Palo Alto High School, was a real Giants fan. Earlier that year, in 2010, he got brought down to the Giants’ clubhouse during the middle of a game, where his favorite player Pablo Sandoval tossed him a pair of batting gloves. He’d attended San Francisco’s last game at Candlestick Park.
So yeah, Pederson wasn’t going to miss San Francisco’s first parade in over 50 years.
The Dodgers had picked Pederson in the 11th round of the amateur draft. The 29-year-old outfielder loved his seven seasons with the Dodgers, and his fall heroics with Atlanta in 2021 speak for themselves, but now it’s time for a return home.
“It’s pretty surreal to get to play for the team I grew up watching,” Pederson said while sporting a black beaded necklace.
At Palo Alto High, Pederson was named the 2010 Prep Baseball Player of the Year. He also starred at wide receiver opposite now-Packers wideout Davante Adams.
His and his wife’s parents still live in the area, and now they’ll get to see their grandchildren; Pederson has a son and a daughter.
“Really important,” Pederson said of how big a factor coming home played in his free agency. “I think it was just the best decision for my family and me.”
Pederson is familiar with the area, and with the Giants. The feeling is mutual.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi started as the Dodgers’ general manager in 2014 — Pederson’s rookie year. SF manager Gabe Kapler also worked with Pederson in LA.
“For me personally, I go way back with (Pederson),” Zaidi said. “Very fond of him personally. Him being from the Bay Area and having that connection, it’s just cool to see him in a Giants uniform today.”
Zaidi and Pederson have remained close through the years, competing in a fantasy football league. The atmosphere Zaidi and Kapler have fostered was among the biggest draws for Pederson. When he arrived in Scottsdale, he found his locker right next to one for his older brother, Champ, who has Down syndrome.
“Obviously Farhan and Gabe have built an unbelievable culture and environment that is adaptive to all personalities,” Pederson said. “Makes people feel comfortable and brings the best out of individuals.”
It helps that Pederson isn’t a stranger in SF’s clubhouse, either. Playing rivalry games 19 times per year provides plenty of opportunity for chit-chat and relationship-building. In 2016, he hung out with Crawford on the Oracle Park field as the Dodgers’ and Giants’ benches cleared. Before signing with the Giants, he joked with Crawford that the way free agency was going, maybe he’d play in Japan.
The bleach-blonde slugger is tight with Alex Wood from their Dodger days, and he’s also played video games — mostly Call of Duty — with some Giants.
The Giants courted Pederson in free agency before last season, too. He was in a similar position that as he is now, Zaidi said: looking to prove himself.
Pederson has struggled the last two seasons, but that didn’t prevent him from smacking two home runs in the NLDS and another in the NLCS for the World Series champion Braves. He did that while making the fashion statement of the playoffs, wearing a pearl necklace he said makes him feel like a “bad bitch.”
He’s always had a knack for the playoffs — “Joctober” hit three home runs in the 2017 World Series after being initially left off LA’s playoff roster. He would’ve been the World Series MVP that year had the Dodgers beat Houston, Zaidi maintains.
Pederson has never missed the playoffs and has played in four World Series — valuable experience for a Buster Posey-less team. His career postseason OPS of .814 in 79 games is even better than that of his regular season career (.794).
“He’s had a few clutch hits in his career, in the postseason,” Crawford sarcastically said.
Pederson, who will wear No. 23, took batting practice in Scottsdale as his one-year, $6 million contract was made official. His left-handed swing delivered consistent line-drive contact against light tosses.
For the Giants, Pederson projects as a corner outfielder and a mainstay in Kapler’s shape-shifting order against right-handed pitchers. Pederson has recorded an .832 OPS against righties in his career; 137 of his 148 homers have come off a platoon advantage.
“I think from our standpoint, he really fits us well,” Zaidi said. “The way Kap manages the roster and tries to matchup obviously. One of the best power hitters against righties his whole career at the big league level. It’s kind of what we do well. Great fit. Glad he’s finally here.”
San Francisco can now trot out an outfield of Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Pederson against right-handed starters. That would potentially leave Austin Slater, Darin Ruf and Steven Duggar — another lefty — available off the bench.
Kapler and the Giants showed in 2021 that they have a knack for putting players in positions to succeed. Pederson noticed it. He also noticed an Oracle Park that’s become slightly more hitter-friendly with the right-field fence moved in.
Pederson fully realizes that the better he plays this year, the better the Giants will be and the more money he will stand to earn next winter in another round of free agency. It’s a symbiotic relationship. And what better way to grow it than back home in the Bay.
“People come here and have career-type years,” Pederson said. “You can definitely see it from the outside looking in, and I want to be a part of it.”
Pederson also knows what all that entails.
“I’m excited to be here. Hopefully add on to the culture and chemistry that they have. And I grew up in the Bay Area. So I know, 2022 — it’s an even year. So taking an educated guess: we’ve got a good chance to win the World Series.”
