Young or old, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize that America’s pastime has changed … a lot. Gone are days when players remain with one team for their entire careers. Instead, their number one goal is to make it to free agency in hopes of landing monster multi-million dollar contracts that will take care of their childrens’ childrens’ children forever.

And then there’s longtime Dodger fan-favorite Andre Ethier, who spent his entire 12-year MLB career with the Dodgers until retiring after the 2017 season.

During his 12 seasons with the Dodgers, Ethier, a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner whom the Dodgers acquired from the Oakland Athletics on December 13, 2005 in exchange for malcontent outfielder Milton Bradley and infielder Antonio Pérez, posted a somewhat mediocre career slash-line of .235 / .316 / .441 / .757. He did, however, finish his career with 303 doubles, 34 triples, and 162 home runs, while driving in 687 runs. He was, as noted, extremely popular with Dodger fans.

Last weekend during the Dodgers three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix, the now 37-year-old Phoenix native and second-round draft pick by Oakland out of Arizona State University stopped by to visit with his former teammates, including 27-year-old outfielder Joc Pederson, who is in his sixth major league season, having been selected by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2010 draft out of Palo Alto High School.

During his visit with Pederson, Ethier gave him one of his old bats, telling him that it was a very good bat.

“He says it had a lot of hits in it,” Pederson said. “I think they’re just left over, but he says that his bats are way harder than everyone else’s, so they’re still hard.”

Little did Pederson – or anyone else – know at the time, but that bat would make history; not just Dodgers history but MLB history.

Since receiving the bat from Ethier, Pederson and slugged five home runs, one double, and driven in nine … in six games. Among those five home runs were two in Monday night’s 16-9 pounding of the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium and two in Wednesday’s 7-3 victory over those same Rockies.

Pederson’s leadoff home run in the first inning on Wednesday, his eighth leadoff home run this season and 19th of his career, was his 31st of the season. With it, it gave the Dodgers their 249th home run of the season to tie the 2000 Houston Astros (then of the National League) for most National League home runs hit in a single season. His second home run, of course, set a new National League record at 250. Keep in mind that the Dodgers still have 20 games remaining in the 2019 regular season, so that record will increase with each additional home run they hit.

Following Wednesday night’s record-setting game, Pederson was asked about his Wonder Boy-like bat from the hit movie ‘The Natural.’

“He texted me after the game,” Pederson said. “And I’m going to tell him there better be some more coming. Hope we get stocked up with a few more, just in case it breaks.”

“Joc is a guy … he’s streaky,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Wednesday night’s game. “These last 10, 12 at-bats he’s really been locked in. When they make a mistake over the plate, it’s a homer.”

Keep those mistakes coming.

Play Ball!

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