Dodgers' Joc Pederson aims to make baseball a contact sport again after second-half struggles last year

Joc Pederson does not want this to sound complicated.

"I'm just trying to hit the ball hard," he said inside the clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, a weekend away from his sophomore season as the team's center fielder. "Put the ball on the barrel. Gotta strike out less."

These are all noble goals, ones...