Joc Pederson of the Dodgers has accepted an invitation to compete in the 2019 T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday, July 8. The 2019 Derby will be held at Progressive Field in Cleveland and will be broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern and 5:00 PM Pacific times.
Pederson, who is tied for second on the team with 20 homers, will make his second appearance in the derby after finishing second to Todd Frazier in the 2015 Derby at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Pederson enters Thursday’s contest in a very crowded tenth-place tie for the most long balls in the National League. His 12.25 homers per at bat ranks ninth in all of baseball.
For the season, Joc is slashing .245/.339/.534 with 41 RBI over 286 AB in 78 games.
With Pederson in the contest, the Dodgers will have had a participant in the event the last six seasons. He will become the 13th appearance by a Dodger in the derby. The 27-year-old native of Palo Alto will join Mike Piazza (1993-94) and Matt Kemp (2011-2012) as the only Dodgers to participate in the contest twice.
The annual showcase will also feature Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, Milwaukee Brewers Christian Yelich, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell, Houston Astros infielder Alex Bregman, Toronto Blue Jays infielder Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Cleveland Indians first baseman Carlos Santana.
The first round brackets are seeded based on 2019 homer totals through Tuesday’s games, while ties are broken up by awarding the higher seed to the player who reached his current home run total first. The first round matchups will go as follows: No. 1 seed Yelich (31 home runs) vs. No. 8 seed Guerrero Jr. (8); No. 2 seed Alonso (28) vs. No. 7 seed Santana (18); No. 3 seed Bell (25) vs. No. 6 seed Acuña Jr. (20); and No. 4 seed Bregman (22) vs. No. 5 seed Pederson (20).
(Juan Dorado furnished some information provided in this report)
Think Blue Planning Committee 
I’ve been thinking about All Star games and how my interest in them has changed over the years. I loved them as a kid. A chance to see all the best players on the field at the same time. Wow. These were players that for the most part you could only read about. Now? We see them all every day. No big deal.
I don’t care how many Dodgers make the stage in this meaningless theater. They want to go for an ego massage, or for a bonus to their already inflated salaries, then by all means go. Home Run Derby? No thanks. Frankly I’d rather our guys take the time off and get some rest heading into the dog days. Dog Days. “Diēs caniculārės”. Origin? The ancient Romans associated the hot humid days of summer with the star Sirius, the “Dog Star”. This star being the brightest star in the constellation Canus Major. Officially that is July 12 to August 20 … for those who may not be sure. Those are long weeks in the baseball schedule
So, enjoy the show. I’ll be poolside or at the beach.
LikeLike
Go Joc!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not a good idea Joc. Last time you were in the derby, for those who have forgotten, his rookie year, it messed up your swing for the rest of the season. He was hitting .230 at the break with 20 homers and 40 RBI’s. After the break and participation in the HR derby he hit .178 with 6 homers and 14 RBI’s. This year so far, with 4 games to go to the break, he is hitting .243 with 20 homers and 41 RBI’s. Almost the same type of year. Difference is in the K’s. He has only struck out 55 times this year. In 2015 he had K’d 106 times at the break. he is not the only hitter who has every experienced a drop off, it happened to Kemp last year, and he only hit in 1 round. Bobby Abreu also dropped off a cliff when he participated years ago. I would much rather see him have a really strong second half. Only Dodger team besides this one to have a double digit lead going into the break, the 55 team was 11 games in front. Right now the Dodgers sit 14 games in front of the Rockies. The D-Backs and the Padres are both below .500.
LikeLike
Glad you remembered the Joc decline after his HR Derby competition. It should be a lesson observed for every future participant. The Dodgers should warn their players too.
LikeLike
Some of you not old enough to remember, but from 1959 to 1962 they had 2 all star games a year. The first all star game in LA was played in 1959 at the Coliseum. Only 55,000 showed up. In a park that had 0ver 93,000 for Campy’s tribute against the Yankees. Don Drysdale started both of those All Star games. No other pitcher did that over the 4 year history. First All Star game hosted at Dodger Stadium came in 1980. J.R. Richard started that one. The MVP was Ken Griffey of the Reds, yep, Jr.s dad. The Dodgers have not hosted one since. But next year, 2020, they will.
LikeLike
Dodgers who have won the game MVP, Wills, Sutton, Garvey, who did it twice, 74 and 78, Piazza. Sutton and Garvey are the only 2 who ever did it back to back.
LikeLike
Happy 4th of July everyone and God Bless the USA and a big shout out to those in the military who everyday place themselves in harms way. Much respect
LikeLike
Good thoughts Bear.
Anybody feel the quake? I just thought it was another bout with vertigo.
It feels like Dodgers are just marking time until the playoffs. They are currently that much better than anybody else in this Division. They’ve done a lot of it with replacement players.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Felt it here in Northridge Scoop and my daughter felt it in Pasadena. We were due for a good one. Hope that will be it for awhile but here in Dodgerland, you never know.
LikeLike
Earthquake? We do not have those here……..but we do see an occasional twister out on the plains…..I do not miss the shakers at all.
LikeLike
Seconding Bear’s shout out to those serving in the military and risking their lives to give us the freedoms we have. Bear, we disagree on a lot of baseball stuff, but share a love for the Dodgers. I’m guessing we disagree on a lot of political stuff, but share a love of country. We’re all in this together and I respect everyone’s right to have an opinion (on any topic) that’s different from mine. Happy 4th everyone!
LikeLike
Thanks Jefe. I totally respect you as a fan and a person. You and Scoop are two of the most knowledgeable guys on here baseball wise. My best friend, Gary, who lives in Lancaster and was born in Brooklyn, are worlds apart politically. But we are still best friends. I just do not discuss politics with him because he is somewhere left of Lenin. He also hates the Dodgers. But that comes from them leaving the borough when he was a kid. Unnatural dislike for O’Malley too. He has been in California for over 50 years, but still has loyalty to his NY teams. He is not a big baseball fan anyway, but a NY Giants fanatic, and the Rangers too.
LikeLike
Right back atcha Bear. I have friends and family all over the political and sports spectrum and if any of them can’t have a respectful conversation I just don’t talk to them about those topics. On the other hand, you don’t always want to discuss sports or politics with people who always agree with you. That makes for a boring life.
With regard to my being a knowledgeable sports fan, I really don’t know anything about sports. I’m just passing on stuff that Scoop gives me so that his posts won’t get too long. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, ol Scoop when he gets the wind behind him can type up a storm.
LikeLike
Today we celebrate the USA. Not perfect and not without its faults but still a land of opportunity and freedom of which the world has ever seen! Happy fourth to all of the think blue family!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happiest countries in the world? We don’t make the Top 10.
Ever heard of the HFI? Human Freedom Index. Interesting read. A lot goes into it – rule of law, security and safety, religion, civil society, legal system, health care, freedom to trade… a lot of other stuff. It’s considered by eggheads to be quite comprehensive. The US ranks 17th. I think we used to be great. That was a long time ago.
I can type volumes Bear. But on this thread I’m way behind.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry Scoop. Remind me not to wish you a happy birthday!
LikeLike
No sweat Rich. I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore. That’s for children. You have as many as I have, it’s just another day.
From MLB:
“Record: 60-29, 1st in NL West
If any team in MLB can justify crossing its arms and saying “we’re good” at the trade deadline, it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers.
They have an explosive offense and a dominant rotation, and even their oft-criticized bullpen hit its stride with a 3.26 ERA in June. In short, they have all of the ingredients to win an elusive World Series title.
However, Los Angeles’ bullpen is the weakest of these elements. The Dodgers can trust Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning, but the bridge to him would benefit from at least one more impact arm. In particular, an impact left-hander.
Between their deep pockets and their No. 9-ranked farm system, the Dodgers have the means to go get one. They just need to do it.”
Not sure that I buy the “trust Kenny Jansen” bit. Sometimes he’s fine. Not always. I agree we should just do it.
LikeLike
Who needs Vazquez, Greene, Smith, etc. when we have Chargois. Five batters, 5 k’s last night. Way to go Shaggy!
LikeLike
His slider was nasty last night. There is talent in that bullpen but it’s all about pitching with location and not simply throwing! Still I’d be much more at ease pitching to that Yankee lineup with Smith or Vazquez on our side!
LikeLike
Today’s Plaschke column sums it. This team has it all.
High cost reliever? Maybe. But I won’t be surprised if they cross their arms and say “we’re good”. Because they are.
Sure hope everyone is on the field come October.
LikeLike
Good game. 1-0 for a while, then the hitters got wise and after Belli’s bomb, they did a good job. So we got a Belli Bomb and a Muncy Mash. Nice pitching from the BP, and Ryu was good, but walked 3 and he never does that. 10-2 for the Korean Komet. They were talking about him being a different guy since he got married last year. I was different after I got married too, I was always broke! LOL…….but he makes a lot more than I did as an Army specialist. Kersh tonight. Hope everyone had a great 4th….oh, Scoop, we were not implying that you are a windbag….but boy when you get on a roll…..watch out.
LikeLike
I was thinking earlier this month that if Ol Andy traded for anything at the break it would be 2 arms for the pen. Now I am thinking maybe 1 arm, and most likely a lefty. That’s where they are the weakest down there right now. Pollock struck out 3 times last night at Rancho, but I would not read a whole lot into that. After almost 2 months without facing live pitching, it is very understandable, and some of those kids down there have serious heat. Lefty pitching against us tonight. So the dreaded all righty line up will rear it’s ugly head. Turner looks a little out of sorts up there. I really think all the bumps and bruises are taking their toll. He has been mired in a mini slump and not hitting the ball hard at all. Verdugo on the other hand has to be hitting in really bad luck. He is 0-12 on the home stand so far, but has been crushing the ball, right at people. Just like Cody was doing about a week ago. 30 homers before the break. Impressive. He has a real shot to be the first player in a Dodger uniform to hit 50. The high is 49.
LikeLike
Kike’s bat has woke up a little. But at best he is still nothing more than a utility guy. If he ever learned to lay off of the stuff he has no chance of hitting and go for more contact and less lift, he would be a much better hitter. Pollock will definitely rejoin the team in Boston and be activated. They are hedging their bets on Seager, and Roberts says they are going to not rush him back at all and will only bring him back when he is close to 100%. Seager said the other day that he was at about 75 %. Lots of players being DFA’d and released the last week or so. Also a lot of pitchers undergoing TJ surgery. Must be an epidemic.
LikeLike