World Series 2024: Teoscar Hernandez is the Dodgers' unsung star

After Freddie Freeman pulled a Kirk Gibson and before Yoshinobu Yamamoto made a career-defining start, Teoscar Hernández made his own mark on this World Series by hitting a two-run home run in Game 2 that provided the winning runs in Game 4 of the Los Angeles Dodgers secured -2 ​​victory over the New York Yankees. It was a moment that might go largely unnoticed in the history of this series, as it was trampled by Shohei Ohtani's injury scare in Game 2 – but such anonymity might be appropriate.

Hernández has been an overlooked but crucial figure all year on a star-studded Dodgers team that is now just two wins away from the title.

While Ohtani, Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow made the $1 billion jump, Hernández accepted a one-year, $23.5 million deal largely because his market was barely material, an addition that seemed almost unnecessary. But without his power, the Dodgers' lineup wouldn't be as strong. Without his presence, their clubhouse wouldn't be as united.

Hernández sipped a cup of coffee near his home in L.A.'s Studio City neighborhood last week and reflected on a year that began with hope and, championship or not, ended “better than anything I could have imagined.” becomes. Hernández put together one of his best offensive seasons – with a .272/.339/.501 slash line, 33 home runs and 99 RBIs in 154 games – won the Home Run Derby and became the cheerful sunflower seed thrower, the microphone-wearing face of one of baseball's most famous teams .

“Shohei is obviously going to be MVP of the entire league,” Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “But for me, apart from him, Teoscar is our MVP.”

Ohtani and Yamamoto were the clear headliners of the free agent class last winter, waiting for nine-figure deals that would set new precedents. They were followed in the pecking order by an annoying group of household names who demanded large contracts but raised a wide range of concerns, including Jordan Montgomery, Josh Hader, Matt Chapman and Cody Bellinger.

Hernández resided in the group just below them – not quite prominent enough to make much money, but perhaps a safe choice amid the uncertainty. After Bellinger and Jung Hoo Lee, he was the best outfielder available. After Ohtani, he might have been the best power hitter. A three- to four-year deal seemed reasonable, if not likely.

“I thought it would be different,” Hernández said, turning to his agent Rafa Nieves of Republik Sports, who was sitting next to him. “We thought it would be different.

Hernández, who turned 32 this month, entered free agency as a former All-Star with two Silver Slugger Awards and six seasons under his belt, posting an OPS 19 percentage points above the league average. From 2018 to 2023, he slashed .262/.317/.484 with 147 home runs and 442 RBIs. But he was coming off a down year in Seattle, where he played a career-best 160 games but posted his lowest OPS for the entire season.

This, in addition to the usual concerns about his defensive value and strikeout rate, hindered Hernández's market. And so Hernandez only received two-year offers, with the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels emerging as top contenders. A third guaranteed year from either team could have completed a deal.

The fact that neither presented one nor the other made the Dodgers more and more tempting.

Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes reached out to Nieves from the start of his free agency and was the first person he met at GM meetings in early November. The Dodgers would pursue Ohtani and needed to address their rotation. After that, they wanted another thug. Even after they signed veteran cornerback-outfielder Jason Heyward to a one-year, $9 million contract in late November, Hernández was their favorite.

After a tumultuous few weeks in which they signed Ohtani, Glasnow and Yamamoto, the Dodgers went back to Nieves and ultimately gave him a one-year contract, albeit with a higher average annual value than Hernández's other offers. Instead of long-term security, Hernández would re-enter the market in a year. He would bet on a Dodgers franchise that plays consistently into October and has a reputation for making players better.

Most of the time, though, he would bet on himself.

“It hasn’t been easy in my career,” Hernández said. “Nothing had happened. But I’m the type to fight back.”

Growing up in the Dominican city of Maimón, Hernández was a utility infielder who didn't attract much attention as a teenager. The scouts discovered that he was not fast enough and did not have enough strength. He was considered the worst thing a teenager could be: a tweener. Between the ages of 15 and 18, all he received were empty promises and cautious interest.

“If I ask you how many attempts I made to get a contract, what do you think that is?” Hernández asked. “Throw away a number.”

10?

15?

30?

“I did over a hundred tryouts,” Hernández said.

In 2011, Hernández got fed up after playing at the Houston Astros' Dominican Complex for nearly a month. He went home and decided to quit. He spent two weeks at his house without practicing before the Astros trained him again and eventually made him an offer – for $15,000. Hernández accepted.

“From that day on, I fought and fought and fought,” Hernández said. “And it got harder and harder every year.”

Six years later, the Astros traded Hernández to the Toronto Blue Jays midway through the 2017 season. Two years later, in his 26-year-old season, Hernández cracked his first opening day squad, only to struggle badly and be sent off six weeks later. His breakthrough 2020 season was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. His 2021 season was hampered by his own COVID case.

But by 2022, despite an oblique strain that cost him three weeks, Hernández had established himself as a valuable power hitter who could serve as a catalyst in the middle of a lineup — enough that the Seattle Mariners, starved for offense, traded for him in November.

Hernández's final year before free agency would see him form a solid team alongside Julio Rodríguez while playing for a Mariners team primed to make a major breakthrough. But Hernández slashed just .238/.288/.406 through the end of July. He got hot in August but still finished with a .741 OPS, his lowest since he became a starter six years earlier. The Mariners missed the playoffs by one game.

“It was a really good, really talented team,” Hernandez said. “But we were missing something. And I think it was about playing as a group, not as individuals.”

The first player to contact Hernández when he signed with the Dodgers was Ohtani via direct message on Instagram.

“Finally,” it said, “we will play together.”

As Angel, Ohtani hit Hernández on the right hand with a sinker on April 5, 2023 and apologized for it as he left the stadium. A short conversation and a surprising friendship developed.

Hernández has a reputation for being cheerful, personable and easy-going. His success with the Dodgers was instant. Over time, Hernández grew out of the group that surrounded him. It was the first time he was around established stars and a successful culture. He learned to handle the rigors of a season and, more recently, was inspired by how Freeman dealt with injuries in October. He learned to keep going no matter what came his way.

“He said something in spring training that caught my attention,” Rojas said. “In Toronto he was a player trying to make a name for himself, but at the same time he had to be the leader of the group. He doesn't have to do that here. He came into our clubhouse knowing that he doesn't have to be the character that holds everyone together and stuff like that. He can concentrate on what he does on the field and what he does best, which is hitting.”

Hernández's performance remained consistent throughout the 2024 season, without the ups and downs that had plagued him at times. He was at his best in September, hitting .329/.407/.605 as the Dodgers made their final attempt to capture an 11th Division title in 12 years. Even after going hitless in 18 at-bats through the first five games of the National League Championship Series, Hernández didn't waver in his approach. He made seven walks on this route, a fact that surprised even him. The results didn't go his way, but he didn't pursue it. He didn't get impatient.

In Game 6, the night the Dodgers clinched their first pennant in four years, Hernández served as an early catalyst, striking out twice as the Dodgers scored six runs in the first three innings.

It was a growth moment for him.

“I know I'm going to fail, I know I'm going to make mistakes, but this year I have that confidence,” Hernández said. “I know at some point I’ll be back, hitting the ball hard, hitting home runs, getting on base and making plays.”

When a high-profile game between the Dodgers and Yankees took place at Yankee Stadium that summer, Hernández starred. He hit the game-winning two-run double in the 11th inning on June 7, hit two home runs in a flop on June 8, contributed two hits and another home run in the only loss on June 9. Now going back – with top-flight stakes, in front of a hostile crowd and against a desperate team – has evoked a particular level of excitement in him.

“It's going to be crazy,” Hernández said of a World Series being moved to the Bronx for Games 3, 4 and, if the Dodgers don't win, Game 5 as well. “But I like that. I like challenges. I like when.” It’s going to be really difficult. And I think that's when you see the best in me when you're facing a really good pitcher, a really good team. There's just something about these moments that I love.

The 2024 season began with a risk. It will end with growth and affirmation. By reaffirming his belief that things happen for a reason. With a clearer idea of ​​what he'll be looking for in free agency — long-term security and a chance to win — and the thought that he shouldn't settle.

Only a handful of teams wanted Hernández in the offseason. Now one of the best doesn't know where it would be without him.

“What are they going to say now?” Hernández said. “I want to see what excuses they will make now.”