Kiké Hernández's postgame interview makes nice on Dodgers NSFW moment from NLDS

After the Dodgers' NLDS Game 5 win against the Padres to advance to the NLCS, Kiké Hernández dropped an F-bomb for the ages in his postgame interview with Ken Rosenthal, but not before making sure that he wouldn't be censored. Rosenthal asked, "What is different about this particular team?

"Are we live?" Hernández asked Rosenthal. When he got an affirmative answer, he didn't hesitate before saying, "The fact that we don't give a f—."

No matter how you feel about that particular incident, it felt almost immediately apparent that Hernández was at least going to get a very stern talking-to from the Dodgers' public relations department. He basically confirmed that when, during the Dodgers' celebration of their World Series berth over the Mets on Sunday night, he said (after David Vassegh of SportsNet LA made sure to clarify that they were live), "What I want to say about this team, I can't because I'll get in trouble."

He said in an unmistakably Kiké-esque way, with a smirk that told viewers that they could read between the lines about what he actually wanted to say.

Kiké Hernández's World Series berth comments make it obvious he was scolded by Dodgers PR for his NLDS F-bomb incident

It took him months, but Hernández reminded Dodgers fans why the team re-signed him this season throughout these past two series. A guy who batted .229 from April through September and was an infield platoon player all year suddenly turned superhuman, as he does every October. He's batted .303 with a .863 OPS through nine postseason games, with a clutch go-ahead homer in Game 5 of the LDS and a two-RBI day in Game 3 of the LCS.

This isn't new behavior for him, either. Last year, he only played in three games, but hit .375 with two RBI, and he was a huge piece of the Red Sox's postseason efforts in 2021, when they were eventually bumped in the ALCS by the Astros. Hernández batted .408 with a ridiculous 1.260 OPS over 11 games that year.

It'll make the Dodgers pause and think a little more about whether or not they bring him back for 2025. Even though he spent most of the regular season as a bottom-third of the lineup bat, he's rewarding the Dodgers for their patience with his postseason performance. He also clearly learned his lesson about the intentional on-air swearing, which could earn him a few points back with the suits in PR.