Joc Pederson Ready for Dodgers Challenge

Joc Pederson’s twitter account (@yungjoc650) claims that “Failure is not an option.” I would claim that neither is surviving this year’s Spring Training without handling immense volumes of pressure.

The 22-year-old California native is expected to take over centerfield for the Dodgers with Yasiel Puig in right and Carl Crawford in left. According to Dodger Talk’s David Vassegh, Andre Ethier has met with Dodger Manager Don Mattingly and President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and told them he may actually prefer to play a corner outfield position in 2015. Such news might take a little pressure off Pederson this spring, but fresh tension is on the way now that every other news story about the young phenom is zeroing in on his rising strikeout ratio. Joseph Werner at SB Nation is just one of many who have broken down the numbers on Pederson as he has made his stunning rise through the minors.

Pederson claims nothing has ever been handed to him and that he has had to earn every accomplishment he’s attained.

Something I’ve noticed during a couple different TV interviews of Joc Pederson is that the young man speaks as much with his facial expressions as with his words. When he’s asked questions by SportsNetLA’s Alanna Rizzo you can see that he’s thinking hard on how he will reply to each question, doing his best to give a real answer and not just a canned response. One can also read a little trepidation in his eyes. Hesitation, thinking twice, might I even go so far as to say fear. I hope I’m reading too much into these televised interviews from Arizona.

Some athletes who can perform at the highest level on the field, seemingly oblivious to the millions of eyes watching their every move, tend to over think themselves and appear insecure or even timid in these simple one-on-one interviews. I can’t help but feel appreciation for the guy. During these interviews he comes off as particularly human, yet to be affected by the cynicism and catered routine of the life of a pro athlete (see under Marshawn “I’m just here so I won’t get fined” Lynch). Pederson claims nothing has ever been handed to him and that he has had to earn every accomplishment he’s attained. He uses this line to deflect those reporters who suggest that the centerfield position is his to lose. Deflecting pressure is a skillset Pederson must quickly master.