Joc Pederson Returned to Atlanta in the 9th Inning of a Tied Game and Still Got a Standing Ovation

I would die today for Joc Pederson. As long as I am alive, I will be willing to die for Joc Pederson.

Joc didn't start in his first game back in Atlanta since winning the World Series as a Brave — Atlanta had lefty Max Fried on the mound — but when he came up as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of a tied game, the Truist Park crowd still gave him a standing ovation.

I don't care that he only played 64 games in Atlanta, Joc will always be one of my favorite Braves. As important as the other trade deadline acquisitions of Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall were, I genuinely believe the Braves don't turn the 2021 season around without the different energy Pederson brought in mid-July. He changed the team.

And then every Braves fan will always remember Joctober. I'll never forget being at the World Series and seeing nearly every single person at Truist Park wearing a fake pearl necklace. What Joc did on the field — particularly in the NLDS — was great, but his greatest contribution was just being himself.

He should get a standing ovation every at-bat in Atlanta for the rest of his career.