The Rush: Joc Pederson on Dodgers vs. Lakers, Kobe, and high school teammate Davante Adams
Joc Pederson of the Los Angeles Dodgers drops in to discuss celebrating a World Series Championship, a Dodgers parade vs. a Lakers parade, his preferred free agency destination, Packers WR Davante Adams’ best sport and true competition in high school, and Joc’s massive shoe collection. PLUS: The Buccaneers held off the Giants in a surprisingly close affair. AND: If you haven’t voted, we’ve got you covered with the Yahoo Voting Playbook!
Video Transcript
- Ends up being a 9-yard penalty. Brady throwing for Evans in his neighborhood. Got it! Touchdown! Tampa, the lead. And Brady retakes the touchdown pass lead over Drew Brees as well.
JARED QUAY: It was close. The Bucs were sweating. But Brady Bunch pulled it off and beat the Giants yesterday.
- Jones throwing for it. And it is knocked away!
Here we go.
- There is no foul for defensive pass interference on the play.
- I was going to say, that--
JARED QUAY: We got Joc Pederson on the show today. But first, it's game day. I'm talking about Election Day. If you haven't already voted, go do so right now. All right, wait a minute. Watch the rest of the show and then vote. And if you haven't already registered, you can both register and vote today if you live in one of these states. Yahoo! Sports and your favorite athletes came to help you out. Check out the Voting Playbook, and click on your state to find out what time the polls close tonight, how to track your ballot, and what forms of ID you'll need if you cast your vote in person. All right, how about we hear from World Series champion Joc Pederson? And this show ain't no democracy, so let's go.
What's up, everybody? I'm with a man who just won a championship last week, Joc Pederson of the Dodgers. Man, how does it feel being a champion, bro?
JOC PEDERSON: Hey, it's nice. A lot of hard work, though, went into this with our team, kind of over the past six years, seven years. I think NL West champions. Came up short for a while. A good group of guys. And so to really win one for LA means a lot.
JARED QUAY: Well, I mean, I know, in a normal year, you guys would both have parades, and when it comes back. But I want to know, whose parade would be more, like, party central? Would it be the Lakers or the Dodgers? Who knows how to party better?
JOC PEDERSON: Man. Ah, that's a tough one.
[LAUGHTER]
Probably the Lakers, man. The Lakers are-- I don't know. Kobe did his thing for a long time, and made the Lakers the Lakers. So we've got some work to cut out. We need to win some more championships.
- That's strike three! Dodgers have won it all in 2020!
JARED QUAY: You're currently a free agent right now.
JOC PEDERSON: Yeah, I just--
JARED QUAY: But would you like the Dodgers to put the ring on it, and make it long-term, so you can win a couple more World Series?
JOC PEDERSON: Yeah, I'm all for it. I'm all for winning. I want to win another one. So this is a good place to be.
JARED QUAY: I was doing my research, man. In the postseason, you were hitting .351 this year, which is better than your regular season average.
- That is well-hit into left-center field. Back. At the wall. It is 3-0, Dodgers. Pederson with a blast.
JARED QUAY: Do you just go beast mode in the playoffs? Is there some kind of mind change that happens?
JOC PEDERSON: Yeah, something like that. No, I think-- I don't know. It was nice to play in front of fans again. This year, I wasn't too fond of going out there with no fans. It was definitely tough to get used to. So to get back in front of the fans, and a cool environment, that was definitely a lot of fun.
JARED QUAY: There we go. Next year, when everybody's there, man, we're going to keep that .351 for the whole year.
JOC PEDERSON: Hey, man, you said it. All year, baby.
[LAUGHTER]
I'm Joc Pederson, senior at Palo Alto high school, and I play football.
JARED QUAY: It turns out that you and Packers receiver Davante Adams were teammates at Palo Alto High School in California. And what I was researching is that you actually had more yards than him your senior year. You were the leading receiver. That's crazy, right?
JOC PEDERSON: Hey, I was the go-to guy. No--
[LAUGHTER]
JARED QUAY: And so I'm asking you, as a free agent, do you think you still could lace up some cleats out there, and see if you can't sign with Aaron Rodgers, and be other receiver? Do you got football skills still?
JOC PEDERSON: No, no, no. I'm done with that. I've got the stickies. My hands are nice. But I don't know. I don't need any more concussions. I'm good.
[LAUGHTER]
JARED QUAY: Do you think, can Davante play baseball? Or is it just you can play football? You guys would both crossover.
JOC PEDERSON: We tried. I remember my dad tried to get him out to little league and stuff. But he didn't even play football until, I think, his junior year in high school. He was basketball, like, only.
JARED QUAY: I've seen that you have a gigantic shoe collection. Just all kinds of Jordans. And since it's Election Day, can you cast your vote on what's your favorite pair of shoes you own?
JOC PEDERSON: Probably my MCA Air Force 1's, the Off-Whites.
JARED QUAY: Ooh.
JOC PEDERSON: They're baby blue. Low top. Virgil did a really good job with that. It's hard to choose one. I mean, that's tough.
JARED QUAY: I didn't see no Yeezys in the collection, though. You don't got no Yeezys, man? They're the most comfortable shoes in the game.
JOC PEDERSON: Man, I had Yeezys. But I did a deal with Nike, so the Yeezys had to go bye bye. Sorry, Adidas.
[LAUGHTER]
I don't even know.
JARED QUAY: Hey, man, Joc. Thank you for spending your time in the middle your celebration, man. Congrats on the championship. Thank you for rushing with me. And let's do the same thing in 2021 when we win the championship again, all right?
JOC PEDERSON: Right on. All right. Have a good one.
[LAUGHTER]