There is something about October baseball for Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Kiké Hernández. He just plays at a different level, nay, he plays at a different stratosphere.
The best player in baseball, Shohei Ohtani, has certainly played fantastic in his MLB playoff debut, but he hasn’t even been the best player on the Dodgers. So far, that honor belongs to Hernández.
What makes Hernádez’s performance in October so impressive is that it is not just a fluke. He is just a really damn good baseball player in clutch moments in the playoffs, and even more so on the road.
Per FOX Sports, Hernández’s OPS on the road (minimum 75 playoff plate appearances) is 1.077, which is good enough for 4th all-time. The players he is behind?
Legends.
Los Angeles Dodgers Kiké Hernández Is In Rarified Air
When we say what Kiké is doing in October is the stuff of legends, we mean it. The 3 players that he is behind all time are Carlos Beltrán, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig.
Everyone knows how important both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig are to baseball, and Carlos Beltran is another great player who is expected to get into the Hall of Fame very soon after receiving 57.1% of the votes last cycle.
So far this postseason, Hernández has a .333 batting average, 3 RBIs, 6 runs, and 2 home runs.
Related: Shohei Ohtani Home Run Tracker
If the Dodgers make it out of the NLCS and on to the World Series, he will be a major reason why. What is even crazier to think is that if not for an injury to Miguel Rojas, Kiké may never have even made it into the lineup.
You never want to see any player get injured, but it has been inspiring to see how Kiké Hernández has stepped up and seized the moment…again.