Dodgers’ Kiké Hernandez Doesn’t Care About Personal Achievements: ‘I Want to Win the World Series’
The Los Angeles Dodgers brought Kiké Hernández back this offseason for several reasons — but the biggest is on display in October.
From April to September, there isn’t much of a difference between him and other role players around the league. He is a below-average hitter with a .233 average and .713 OPS.
However, in the postseason, he transforms into one of the greatest in baseball history. Hernández is mentioned in the breath as legends like Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle with his .280 average and .903 OPS.
Read more: Dodgers’ Kiké Hernandez Reveals Secret To Being So Good in the Postseason
In the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s 8-0 win over the New York Mets in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, Hernández showed off again with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 4-0.
“I told myself to slow down and get out of swing mode,” Hernández said. “The very next pitch, he made a mistake. I was able to get a good swing. I thought it was going to go really far. The wind kind of scared me for a second. But a homer’s a homer.”
The home run was historic. It was the 15th of his postseason career and puts him in a tie with Ruth and former Dodger Jayson Werth – but the personal accolades aren’t what he is chasing.
“It (15 career postseason home runs) sounds good, but I want to win the World Series,” he told MLB Network after Game 3. “I’m not really worried about individual things.”
Hernández has taken advantage of the opportunity given to him which wouldn’t happen if not for Miguel Rojas being injured. Rojas not being on the NLCS roster has put Tommy Edman at shortstop and forced Roberts to play Hernández in center field.
It’s crazy to think but if Rojas were healthy, would Hernández even be playing?
“That’s a good question. I’m glad I don’t have to answer that question,” manager Dave Roberts said, smiling. “He’s in there now.”
How much did his home run change the complexion of the game?
“Immensely,” Roberts said after the game. “We found a way to get lucky and score a couple of runs in that second inning.
“But for Kiké to have that at-bat – eight-, nine-pitch at-bat, get the ball up the zone and hit a homer, that was huge. It was enormous. I thought it gave Walker a little breathing room. I thought it allowed for me to use the pen.
“And then it allowed guys like Shohei to kind of catch a breath and extend the lead. And obviously Max had a huge game, continues to get on base, gets big hits.
“But the Kiké homer, biggest hit of the game.”
Seems like that can be said a lot when it comes to Hernández in the postseason.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
