Joc Pederson’s first home run as a Chicago Cub, accomplished Wednesday against Milwaukee, was memorable on many levels. Obviously, it was an important one with Chicago trailing 1-0 at the time (it was only the Cubs’ second hit of the afternoon following Ian Happ’s leadoff single an inning earlier). Pederson’s eighth-inning solo shot off Brewers reliever Devin Williams—last year’s NL Rookie of the Year—was also his first hit of the season, ending an 0-for-15 dry spell for the Cubs newcomer.
Returning to the dugout after his 417-foot blast to right field (his third career homer at Wrigley), the 28-year-old outfielder was greeted by a mob of enthusiastic teammates, who, for some reason, bestowed on him a waffle iron. Twitter users quickly identified it as a Chefman Anti-Overflow model, priced at a modest $29.99 on Amazon (before shipping, of course). Since debuting with the Dodgers in 2014, Pederson has connected on 131 big-league homers, but, to my knowledge (feel free to chime in if I’m wrong here), this was his first involving any sort of kitchen or breakfast appliance. Pederson seemed thrilled by the gesture, though I do wonder if this was a re-gifting situation similar to Will Ferrell’s toaster fiasco in Old School.
Pederson’s late-inning homer only delayed the inevitable as Milwaukee went on to win 4-2 in extras. But at least he's going home with a new waffle-maker.
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