Insane David Ortiz, Jim Thome comparison perfectly encapsulates Kiké Hernández's October dominance

Kiké Hernández coming to life at the plate signals that the season is changing even more than a slight chill setting in or falling leaves (especially in LA). The guy lives for the postseason, and the Los Angeles Dodgers know that better than anyone.

Hernández missed most of the regular season after starting the year on the IL and then suffering an oblique strain. He only played in 41 games and hit .222 with a .671 OPS, four home runs, and 12 RBI. Three of those homers came in August and September, with the last of his regular season hit on September 26, in the Dodgers' second-to-last game.

He appeared as a defensive substitute in Game 1 of the NLDS but didn't get an at-bat, but he was in the starting lineup in Game 3 against lefty Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale — and he made it count. The Dodgers won 3-1 that day thanks to a Hernández two-run homer to kick off scoring, and later a Freddie Freeman solo shot.

It was the 17th postseason homer of Hernández career, the same amount as Hall of Famers David Ortiz and Jim Thome, and future Hall of Famer Aaron Judge.

Kiké Hernández's 17 postseason homers match David Ortiz, Jim Thome, Aaron Judge

Say what you will about WAR, it's useful shorthand. Codify's side-by-side-by-side-by-side comparisons of those four players makes it very clear, even without full context, that Ortiz, Thome, and Judge was or are superior players to Hernández.

But when it comes to October, when it really matters, they're in the same league.

It hasn't just applied to his trips to the postseason with the Dodgers, either. His best postseason in most regards was with the Boston Red Sox in 2021, when he hit .408 with a 1.260 OPS, four doubles, a triple, five homers, and nine RBI in 11 games. He only struck out six times in 49 at-bats, and his walk-off sac fly sent Boston to the ALCS that year.

This is why the Dodgers will keep re-signing him even as he gets into his late 30s, and even if he's doomed to miss most of the regular season, like he did this year. The Dodgers don't need him for a random day game in July; they need him where he's always happiest anyway.

It's inexplicable, the way he can flip a switch as soon as the calendar turns over, and it'll continue to be one of the greatest mysteries of the game. But Dodgers fans don't need to figure it out. We're just along for the ride.

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