Kiké Hernández once again was in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for Game 2 of the World Series, batting seventh and playing left field against the Toronto Blue Jays.
With the start, Hernández officially logged his 87th career postseason appearance with the Dodgers, surpassing Justin Turner for the most playoff games in franchise history.
Hernández has spent a vast majority of his career with the Dodgers, beginning in 2015. In that time, he has been with the Dodgers for all five of their World Series appearances in the last nine seasons.
Additionally, Hernández’s nine postseason trips with L.A. are tied with Turner and Kenley Jansen for second-most in franchise history. The franchise record belongs to Clayton Kershaw at 13.
The 34-year-old has developed a reputation as a player who thrives in the bright lights of October. He proved himself not only with the Dodgers, but also during his lone postseason trip with the Boston Red Sox in 2021.
Including his time with the Red Sox gives Hernández an additional 11 postseason games. That was also the most productive playoff showing of his career, as Hernández hit .408/.423/.837 with four doubles, one triple, five home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored.
Over his Dodgers postseason career, Hernández entered the World Series batting .253/.341/.433 with seven doubles, 10 home runs and 30 RBI. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in Game 1. Hernández ranks fifth all-time in Dodgers postseason home runs and seventh in RBI.
Kiké Hernández emotional over Dodgers postseason record
Hernández wasn’t aware he was approaching Turner’s record for postseason games with the Dodgers until it was brought to his attention during the National League Championship Series. The sudden realization that becoming the Dodgers’ all-time leader in postseason games played brought a flood of emotions.
“Humbled, fortunate. This is not just any franchise, man. This is the L.A. Dodgers,” Hernández said. “They’ve been around for a long time, and they have a lot of history.”
Hernández then grew emotional as his eyes welled up while continuing, “And for a guy like me from Puerto Rico, kind of swam against the current my entire life, to be sitting in this position is pretty special. But at the same time, I haven’t really wanted to reflect too much on it because there’s going to be a time for that once I’m done playing, and I’m going to have a lot of years to reflect on it.
“But for now, I’m just, I mean, as cool as that is and I’m going to take that to the grave with me, I’m just focused on today. And it will be cool if my name is up there with the most Dodger World Series ever. But to be creeping up on playing the most playoff games as a Dodger is something that I never really dreamed of or thought that would happen. That’s something that is pretty special.”
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