Chicago Cubs Outfielder Gets His First Dinger—and A Waffle Iron?

Baseball season is officially here, which means peanuts, Cracker Jack, ballpark franks—and, for one lucky left fielder, hot 'n' fresh waffles. Joc Pederson, who left the Los Angeles Dodgers to join the Chicago Cubs during the offseason, was nervous about nailing his first hit as a Cubs newcomer. But on Wednesday, the outfielder hit his first official dinger as a Cub—and received a surprise gift upon returning to the bleachers. Game footage shows Pederson heading to the dugout to celebrate the home run, at which point he gets plenty of high fives, claps on the back, and a congratulatory gift from outfielder Ian Happ: a brand spanking new waffle iron.

CBS Sports reports that Pederson's season kickoff with the team was a bit rocky, with an 0-for-15 start. That's why Happ brought a little inspiration for his new teammate out. "He says, 'Yeah, I'm bringing the waffle maker,'" Pederson told reporters.

Everyone loves a waffle iron, but this one has special significance in the dugout. CBS Sports explains that "waffling" a pitch refers to making good contact with the ball. This also isn't Happ's first waffle celebration—since 2018, he's brought waffle irons to the dugout to celebrate teammates' wins. This does seem to be the most widely covered waffle iron handoff, however. (At around 0:15 in the video above, you'll hear one of the announcers speculate that "he just won a fondue pot or something.") Cubs players hope that this waffle iron is the first of many this season. "I hope we're making a lot of waffles," Pederson says. "Hopefully we're passing out waffles soon to all of us," he said.