Kiké Hernández

BIOGRAPHY

Kiké Hernández was born August 24, 1991, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is an infielder in the MLB.

Hernández is the eldest child of Enrique Hernández Sr., a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and his wife Mónica González, owner of a boutique in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. His mother is Cuban. He has two younger sisters. He began playing baseball at age six and participated in international youth tournaments in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

In 2017, he batted .215/.308/.421 in 297 at-bats with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs, while playing at least one inning at every position except pitcher or catcher. In the 2017 National League Division Series, he had one hit, a double, in three at-bats. In the fifth game of the 2017 National League Championship Series, he hit three home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs to tie the record for most RBI in a postseason game, helping send the Dodgers to the World Series for the first time since 1988. In the World Series, he had three hits in 13 at-bats (.231 average) as the Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros in seven games.

On July 23, 2020, Hernandez drove in five runs in an Opening Day 8–1 win against the San Francisco Giants. He played in 48 games during the Dodgers' pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting .230/.270/.410 with five home runs and 20 RBIs. In Game 7 of the 2020 National League Championship Series, Hernandez hit a game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning. With the home run, Hernandez also became the first player to hit a pinch-hit, game-tying, or go-ahead home run in a winner-take-all postseason game. Overall, he had 14 at-bats in the series, with four hits (two of them home runs). In the 2020 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Hernandez had two hits as the Dodgers won the championship.

On February 2, 2021, Hernández signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. He began the season as Boston's primary center fielder, while also seeing time at second base. On May 7, Hernández was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. On May 17, he played for the Worcester Red Sox on a rehabilitation assignment. He hit two home runs in the game, including the first grand slam in Worcester Red Sox history. Hernández returned to Boston's lineup the following day. He was named the AL Player of the Week after hitting .400 with nine RBIs during July 19–25. Hernández missed several games from late August into early September due to being on the COVID-related injured list. On October 11, 2021, Hernández hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to send the Red Sox to the 2021 American League Championship Series.

Hernández was Boston's starting center fielder for Opening Day in 2022. On September 6, the Red Sox announced that Hernández signed a one-year, $10 million contract extension for the 2023 season. For the 2022 season, Hernández played in 93 games for Boston while batting .222 with six home runs and 45 RBIs.

On July 25, 2023, the Red Sox traded Hernández back to the Dodgers in exchange for Nick Robertson and Justin Hagenman. Hernández returned wearing the number 8, as in the time he was gone, his old number 14 was retired by the Dodgers in honor of Gil Hodges.

Baseball isn't Kike's only talent. In fact, he has turned actor and even made an appearance on "The Bold and the Beautiful".