'Littlest things' led to Joc Pederson's breakout game for the Rangers

Don’t look now but the Texas Rangers might be coming out of their offensive slump. They might have, in fact, been doing it even before Donnie Ecker was replaced and Leody Taveras was released. If Sunday was the beginning of the turnaround then Tuesday was further evidence and that evidence included Joc Pederson having easily his best game since signing wih the club. 

In the opening game against the Boston Red Sox, Pederson broke a personal three-game hitless streak by going 2-for-3 with a double (that was 109.8 mph off the bat), a single and an RBI. He also raised his average from .094 to .114 and while that isn’t the biggest development, being over .100 seems important considering the kind of struggles the veteran slugger has had.

Joc Pederson turns to torpedo bat and breaks out for Rangers vs. Red Sox

For his part, Pederson believes to at least some degree, his Texas Rangers breakout game came thanks to trying MLB’s biggest fad. While he’d given it a try earlier this year too, the he went back to the torpedo bat on Tuesday and he thinks it worked this time.

“Baseball is an interesting game,” Pederson said after the 6-1 win. “Sometimes the littlest things make the biggest difference and free you up and give you the mental freedom to go out there and compete with confidence.”

Torpedo bats, the bowling pin-shaped bats that are new this year, gained popularity after the New York Yankees used them to bash the Milwaukee Brewers into submission in the first series of the season. 

Pederson said he tried a torpedo bat briefly in Arlington and did have a loud foul ball. So he thought he’d see if continued use could lead to real results. So far so good for the Rangers slugger that manager Bruce Bochy has said the team needs to heat up.

So far, the veteran hitter is one of the worst in baseball. His  -0.9 WAR is second worst among everyone who qualifies and he’s boasting just a 9 (Nine!) WRC+ in 2025 after posting a 151 WRC+ in 2024.

The Texas Rangers are indeed going to need Joc Pederson to start hitting much better if they really want the middle of the lineup to be a threat. He might have taken a step in the right direction last night.