‘I needed to feel Dodger Stadium again.’ Kiké Hernández was reborn in return to L.A.
Kiké Hernández’s first day back as a Los Angeles resident, after nearly three years that felt like three weeks, began with a visit to Olive & Thyme in Toluca Lake for breakfast. He didn’t see a check. Free. A welcome-back gift.
“A little embarrassing,” Hernández said.
Kiké Hernández, embarrassed? The crowd favorite who isn’t afraid to thrust his hips on the field when he hears a reggaeton beat? The Dodger in a banana suit? That guy?
“I still get embarrassed all the time when I’m playing outfield and randomly during the game the ‘Kiké’ chants start going,” Hernández said. “People think, because of my personality, I love all that ... , but I get super embarrassed.”
Don’t get it twisted. Hernández appreciates all the love he’s felt since rejoining the Dodgers last month as a familiar spark for a club streaking toward another division title. It turns out, he needed some.
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Hernández’s season began as a nightmare toiling through the worst year of his career with the Boston Red Sox. Everything seemingly went wrong.
The criticism mounted with each hitless game and each head-scratching error. Two seasons after leading the Red Sox to within two wins of a World Series with a Ruthian postseason performance, just months after recruiting Justin Turner to Boston, after nearly three years as an unlikely face of the franchise, he became a punching bag for a rabid fan base.
Ultimately, the utility man was hurting a team battling for a playoff spot badly enough that it decided to proceed without him. The Red Sox sent him to Los Angeles for two minor leaguers. Red Sox Nation rejoiced. So did Dodgers fans.
Hernández will join Mookie Betts and Ryan Brasier as former Red Sox returning to Fenway Park for the first time when the Dodgers visit for a three-game series starting Friday. Hernández will arrive in a vastly different state of mind. It’s been just a month since the Dodgers reacquired him, but the move already has resurrected his career.
“It’s been a great change of scenery,” Hernández said, “to say the least.”
The Dodgers saw Hernández as a quick-fix reclamation project to raise the team’s floor against left-handed pitching. Having hitting coaches already familiar with his mechanics and mind-set helped. Adjustments quickly were implemented — stepping in the bucket was an issue — and the results have been instant.
He’s batting .296 with an .842 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and 10 doubles in 25 games. His 100 OPS+ suggests he’s been exactly a league average hitter. Nothing spectacular. But average is a dramatic improvement compared to the .222 batting average, career-worst .599 OPS and 61 OPS+ he posted in 86 games with the Red Sox this season.
“I click pretty quick when I find it, but I didn’t think I was going to click that quick,” Hernández, who turned 32 on Thursday, said. “It was not a big adjustment but it was at the same time. But we’re still working. We’re still finding feels and we’re still trying to get better at different things.”
In the field, he committed a league-leading 14 errors with the Red Sox. With the Dodgers, he’s providing value bouncing around the diamond (he’s already spent time at every position but right field, catcher and pitcher). His two errors have been at third base — a position he hadn’t played since 2019.
It’s almost like he never left.
“I love Kiké,” catcher Austin Barnes said. “I consider him one of my good friends. We’re like brothers. Playing with him through the years, this is the same Kiké. He brings the energy. He’s a ballplayer. I think he fits in so good here.”
Hernández wasn’t the only newcomer to benefit from a midseason move to Los Angeles. In all, the Dodgers acquired five veterans at the trade deadline. The activity drew second-guessing. None of the players was considered a significant upgrade. All five were struggling. And all five, on cue, have provided boosts.
Like Hernández, Lance Lynn was having the worst season of his career with a league-worst 6.47 ERA in 21 starts. He’s compiled a 1.44 ERA in four starts as a Dodger.
Amed Rosario had three home runs and a .674 OPS in 94 games while the metrics rated him one of the worst shortstops in the majors. He’s matched the home run total in 21 games with the Dodgers while playing solid defense at shortstop and second base — a position he never had played.
Ryan Yarbrough, whose fastball averages 87 mph, has a 2.35 ERA in 15⅓ innings as a Dodger after recording a 4.24 ERA in 51 innings with the Kansas City Royals. Joe Kelly, another fan favorite back in Los Angeles, arrived with a 4.97 ERA. He didn’t surrender a run in four appearances before landing on the injured list with an elbow injury.
The Dodgers, coincidentally, are 19-3 since the Aug. 1 deadline.
“The vibe here is great,” Rosario said in Spanish when asked if he had a theory for the newcomers’ success. “I think that it also pushes you a little more when you’re around so many superstars. I think that the team that they’ve been having, it motivates you and makes you want to work more to get to the point where they are. You see the stars working and you learn, you pick up the little things.”
For Hernández, familiarity in different areas helped his transition. There are plenty of familiar faces, from coaches and trainers to security and clubhouse attendants. The roster, however, is very different.
Barnes is one of just 11 other players from the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series team, the result of significant changes in three years. Most of the core Hernández came up with isn’t around.
So Hernández didn’t know what to expect when he arrived. Manager Dave Roberts openly hinted that Hernández’s “strong personality” would need to blend into the veteran clubhouse. So far, so good.
“With Kiké, I think it’s you don’t really know what you have until it’s gone,” Roberts said. “He’s always played the game the way that I love and appreciate. But when you’re around something for so long, you’re more apt to point out the flaws until you’re gone.
“Right now, with what he’s experienced in the last couple years, I think there’s an abundance of gratitude and joy to be back here. He has been fantastic for everyone. I couldn’t be happier to have him.”
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Hernández entered 2020 knowing he probably wasn’t re-signing with Los Angeles after the season. He viewed himself as an everyday player. The Dodgers saw a platoon asset best used by avoiding right-handed pitching. A breakup was inevitable.
But the resulting pandemic-shortened season made for a strange finale. Cardboard cutouts and artificial noise replaced the fans who had grown to love him over the years. It took until this month, nearly three years later, to realize he missed the emotions of a packed Dodger Stadium, embarrassment and all.
“I needed to feel Dodger Stadium again,” Hernández said. “It’s hard not to have [the crowd] be a confidence booster when you’re feeling that much support. It makes you feel like you’re the man again.”
On Friday, he’ll return to Fenway Park, where he experienced his lowest baseball lows. Where his 2-year-old daughter was just learning how to say “Red Sox” before he was told they were moving across the country. Where he thought he could finish his career.
He’ll probably receive some cheers and a video tribute for his contributions. He’s just happy he won’t be the only one. Too embarrassing.
“I’m glad those other guys are coming along with me,” Hernández said, “and the video isn’t just for me.”
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