Fresh off a career year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Joc Pederson was enshrined in the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California. He was part of a 2020 class that included sports broadcaster Dave Feldman, marketing director Pat Gallagher, journalist Henry Schulman and co-owner of the original Roller Derby league, Jerry Seltzer.
Established in 2006, the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California pays tribute to Northern California’s professional sports figures, awards scholarships to student-athletes, and honors members of the community who have provided support for Jewish and non-Jewish youth participating in sports.
The 13th annual induction ceremony and banquet was held on Sunday, Nov. 10, at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, Calif. A partial list of presenters on hand included Jay Bilas, Donald Drewry, Shawn Estes, Bob Lurie, Daniel Lurie, Carol ‘Peanuts’ Meyer Roman, Champ Pederson, Glenn Schwarz, John Shea, and Hal Silen.
Mindy Bach additionally served as master of ceremonies while Andy Dolich was tasked with panel host duties.
In addition to being part of the 2020 Hall of Fame class, Gallagher was the recipient of the annual Mensch Award. The honor is presented to an individual, not of the Jewish faith, who “epitomizes the concept of Tikkum Olam — repairing the world through the generosity and charitable service to the community at large.”
Born and raised in Palo Alto, Calif., Pederson starred in multiple sports at Palo Alto High School before being drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He additionally played for the Israel national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
The 27-year-old posted career-highs in numerous categories for the Dodgers during the 2019 season, including batting average (.249), home runs (36), RBI (74), slugging percentage (.538) and on-base plus slugging (.876).
Pederson additionally accumulated 3.3 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference’s calculations, and is one of 12 Dodgers players eligible for salary arbitration this winter.
Earlier in the offseason, Chris Taylor was similarly honored as one of six players selected to the 2020 Virginia Baseball Hall of Fame class.
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