Given that Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., he naturally was a fan of the San Francisco Giants and other Bay Area sports teams.
Presumably like most other young kids who grew up in the 1990s, and particularly as a left-handed batter, Pederson’s favorite player was Major League Baseball’s all-time home run leader Barry Bonds.
Now entrenched with the Dodgers and establishing his own career in the Majors, Pederson had the opportunity to meet Bonds, now the Miami Marlins hitting coach, during last month’s four-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Or so he thought. As part of an interview with Jay Onrait and Dan O’Toole on Fox Sports Live, Pederson revealed his attempt at getting a photo with the player he idolized did not go as well as he had hoped:
.@yungjoc650 was big-leagued by his favorite player growing up, @BarryBonds. Full interview w/ the @Dodgers CF.https://t.co/FFCAuoJ6s2
— FSLive: #JayAndDan (@foxsportslive) May 26, 2016
Pederson showed some Bonds-like power during his rookie season, slugging 26 home runs, which led all rookies in the Majors. Pederson hit 20 of those home runs in the first half of 2015 and earned his way to a spot in the Home Run Derby and on the National League All-Star team.
Pederson currently leads the Dodgers with eight home runs, and is batting .256/.370/.512 over 45 games.
