Joc Pederson said this afternoon that he hadn’t peeked at the Home Run Derby bracket yet. He’d agreed to participate, so his inclusion Wednesday was no surprise. He even knows who will be pitching to him next Monday in Cincinnati.
As you can see in the image above, there’s Pederson, opposite Manny Machado in the first round and possibly Albert Pujols or Kris Bryant (you can conjur up the commentary now) in the second round.
The rookie center fielder was typically deferential Wednesday discussing his selection to the annual pre-All-Star Game contest. “Should be a fun time,” he said. “It’s a huge honor just to be a part of the event.”
More interesting than Pederson’s reaction is the history he’s up against. Dodgers hitters typically don’t do well in the event. Yasiel Puig, the last Dodger to be selected to the derby, didn’t hit a single home run last year. Matt Kemp hit one home run in 2012 and two in 2011. Hee Seop Choi hit five home runs in 2005. Mike Piazza hit exactly zero in 1993 and 1994.
As an aside: The format was different in 2005. Choi was representing South Korea. Andruw Jones represented the Netherlands, Mark Teixeira represented the United States, David Ortiz represented the Dominican Republic, and the winner, Bobby Abreu, represented Venezuela.
“We ended up acquiring (Abreu) in New York right after that, that year,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly recalled. “It was almost like everybody thought he was a home run hitter after that and Bobby, to me, was never a home run hitter. He was always just a really good hitter.”
What is Pederson?
“Right now you’d say he’s a home run hitter,” Mattingly said. “That’s what he looks like. I think he’s better than that. I think he’ll end up being a guy that hits better than that, but that remains to be seen. It’s going to be up to him — how he works and how he continues to grow.”
Mattingly boldly predicted that Pederson would break Choi’s team record.
Pederson wasn’t as bold. He wouldn’t even handicap his chances against Machado. The new format might be his biggest challenge.
From the league’s official website:
Each batter has five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible, with a timer starting with the release of the first pitch.
Any home run hit within one minute remaining will stop the timer immediately when the ball lands in home run territory. The timer will then not start again until the batter hits a ball that does not land in home run territory or swings and misses at a pitch.
Additionally, batters can be awarded bonus time based on home run length: If a batter hits two homers during a turn that equal or exceed 420 feet, one minute of bonus time will be added. For every home run of at least 475 feet, 30 seconds will be added. Players can earn a total of one minute and 30 seconds of bonus time.
Ties in any round will be broken by a 90-second swing-off, with no stoppage of time or additional time added. If the batters remain tied, they will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner. At any time the second batter eclipses the first batter’s total, that round’s matchup will end and the second batter will advance.
Each batter also gets one “time out” per round.
Got it? Pederson said he’s read the rules.
“Swinging for five minutes, that’s going to be a really long time,” he said. “Really long. Hopefully I don’t have to go first and I can watch how some of the veterans go about it.”
Johnny Washington, a coach at Triple-A Oklahoma City, will pitch to Pederson. Washington first coached Pederson during his first pro season after the Dodgers drafted him in 2010 and has helped him with his swing in recent off-seasons.
“He’s been with me since Day 1,” Pederson said. “It’s only appropriate that he gets to come along and get to share in this event, see how far we’ve come together.
Pederson and Bryant will become just the fifth and sixth rookies to compete in the Derby, joining California’s Wally Joyner (1986), Oakland’s Jose Canseco (1986) and McGwire (1987), and Mike Piazza of the Dodgers (1993).
The Home Run Derby begins at 5 p.m. PT and will be televised on ESPN.
