Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Kike Hernandez spoke about his mindset during the postseason and why he tends to perform better during October.
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Hernandez has made a habit of showing up during the postseason, and is already off to a hot start in 2025. In the Dodgers’ Wild Card series against the Reds, Hernandez batted .500, scoring three runs and driving one in over the two-game series.
“I know they brought me here for these type of moments. It sucks for 162 games that it didn’t go well. But once we get here, it doesn’t really matter,” said Hernandez.
“The beautiful thing about the postseason is that once we get to the postseason, everything starts at zero and nothing really matters about the 162. … You can have a bad year and you flip the script and you start over in the postseason, you have a good postseason, help the team win, we win it all, and nobody ever remembers what you did in the regular season. Everybody remembers what happened in the playoffs.”
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Hernandez played around replacement-level baseball for his 92 games during the regular season, however it’s almost to be expected he’ll begin to produce at the plate come October. He has a career postseason OPS of .882, much higher than his career regular season OPS of .707.
Manager Dave Roberts spoke about the importance of Hernandez in the team, especially at such a crucial point in the season.
“Kiké is obviously an energy-giver. When he’s playing, playing well, guys feed off of that,” Roberts said.
“October Kiké is something pretty special. And the track record speaks for itself. Throughout history, he’s one of the best throughout history of the postseason.”
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The Dodgers will hope Hernandez can continue to turn the lineup over with his excellent production this postseason, as they’re headed into an intense NLDS matchup against the No. 2 seeded Philadelphia Phillies. The opening game of the series begins Saturday at 3:38 p.m. PT.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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One Response
No, the article did NOT reveal the reason for his post-season success! Shame on you for the totally false headline.