Joc Russell Pederson is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Standing 6 feet 1 inch and weighing 220 pounds, Pederson has built a reputation as one of the game's most dangerous left-handed power hitters. A two-time World Series champion and two-time All-Star, he has clubbed over 218 career home runs across 13 MLB seasons, earning his place as a feared postseason performer known for delivering in October.
Pederson was born on April 21, 1992, in Palo Alto, California, into an athletic family. His father Stu Pederson played eight games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1985 before spending 12 years in the minors. At Palo Alto High School, Joc was a two-sport standout who led his football team with 30 receptions for 650 yards and nine touchdowns during his senior year. The Dodgers selected him in the 11th round of the 2010 MLB Draft with a $600,000 signing bonus.
After working his way through the Dodgers' minor league system, Pederson debuted in 2014 and broke out in 2015 with 26 home runs as a rookie, earning his first All-Star selection and competing in the Home Run Derby. Over seven seasons with Los Angeles, he helped the Dodgers reach three World Series and was part of their 2020 championship team. He later joined the Cubs, Braves, Giants, and Diamondbacks before signing with the Rangers.
Pederson's defining moment came during the 2021 postseason with the Atlanta Braves, where he became a folk hero wearing his signature pearl necklace. He crushed two pinch-hit home runs in the NLDS against Milwaukee, becoming just the third player in history to accomplish that feat in a single postseason series. His 454-foot blast off Max Scherzer in the NLCS was the longest homer of that postseason. The pearl necklace was later enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Before the 2025 season, Pederson signed a two-year, $37 million contract with the Texas Rangers, which included a player option for 2026 at $18.5 million. His 2025 campaign was disrupted by a broken right hand suffered on May 24 after being hit by a pitch, causing him to miss 52 games. He exercised his player option for 2026, returning to Arlington as the Rangers' designated hitter and first baseman looking to bounce back from an injury-shortened season.
