Joc Pederson hits a three-run homer from 402 feet right field, giving the Braves the lead in fifth inning. (0:26).
The Chicago Cubs have had a significant impact on the 2021 MLB playoffs, despite losing 91 games.
Everywhere you look, an ex-Cub is the latest October hero. This trend was heightened by Monday's NLDS match between the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves.
Joc Pederson, Braves pinch hitter, became the third player to hit both pinch homers in the same season. He blasted a three-run jack against Adrian Houser, Milwaukee righty, in the bottom of the fifth. This was the key to the Braves' 3-0 win.
Pederson, a recent ex-Cub, was acquired in July from Chicago by Atlanta for a prospect. But there's more. The bat Pederson used in hitting the game-turning ball was one he "stole” from his former Chicago teammate Anthony Rizzo.
Anthony Rizzo was Anthony Pederson's bat! pic.twitter.com/jnlS4L2f9N Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 11, 2021
During the broadcast, cameras captured Rizzo's name on Pederson’s lumber. Pederson said that he stole the lumber from Rizzo when he was in Chicago. It's a hit-filled record. Big Horn, thank you!
So Rizzo didn't know?
"He just texted" Pederson replied with a shrug. "Yeah, that'll be interesting," Pederson said.
According to NBC Sports Chicago Pederson "borrowed" the bat - or at most a Rizzo model bat - in May when he scored three runs in a loss in Cleveland.
In the big leagues, it is not unusual to borrow a bat from a friend. If it works, you can continue using it. It's possible to transfer it across state lines to another franchise. This could be a new tradition.
Rizzo was the one who got the ex-Cub home-run parade off to a great start in October. He homered for the Yankees in a loss at Boston in the wild-card round. Rizzo's homer was three innings after Kyle Schwarber, a recent Cub ex-Cub, had gone deep for the Red Sox.
It was October. Rizzo is gone, but his bat remains. Pederson now has two pinch-hit homers against the Brewers in Atlanta, both from righty Adrian Houser. He is the third pinch-hitting player to have two home runs in the same postseason and the first to do so off the same pitcher.
Nobody has ever hit three career pinch-hit homers in the postseason. Even Pederson was impressed.
After the game, Pederson said, "Yeah. I guess I'm just a fairly good player, don't know," to reporters. "Just knocked that out of the yard."
The key blow continues to give a 21st-century spin on the ex-Cub Factor mythology. It was a baseball truism that a team could not win the World Series if there were at least three ex-Cubs on its roster.
In 2021, you won't be able to reach the World Series without a new Cub. Rizzo, Pederson (twice), Schwarber (2 times) and Kris Bryant (San Francisco) have all reached the playoffs deep.
Six of the 33 homers in this postseason were hit by Cubs players at the time this article was written. These four players combined have a combined batting average of.433 and a 1.033 slugging percent.
This is the lesson. The lesson is clear. In 2021 baseball mythology you must be a former Cub if you want win. If that fails, you can swipe equipment. You can also try to get both, like the Braves and Pederson.
