Teoscar Hernández became the first Dodgers player to win the Home Run Derby and he also is helping Los Angeles remain in first place in the NL West.
Teoscar Hernández is already making history with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The outfielder became the first player in franchise history to win the Home Run Derby on the day before the MLB All-Star game. Hernández is also having a solid season and has helped the Dodgers maintain a comfortable lead in the National League West standings.
Hernández will start the game in center field in Tuesday’s All-Star game and replaced the San Diego Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., who could not play in the game because of a leg injury and was placed on the injured list.
“This is what we’ve worked for,” Hernández
said about being named an All-Star. “Obviously, coming in here, big city, big team, huge fan base, and to be able to do the things that they expect me to do, help the team, that is most important for me.”
Hernández, 31,
signed with the Dodgers as a free agent on a one-year, $23.5 million contract on Jan. 12, opting for Los Angeles over the Boston and Red Sox. The deal gave Hernández an opportunity to play with superstar Shohei Ohtani, who leads the National League with 29 home runs.
“It feels great because I was going to be playing with one of the best players in the game right now,” Hernández said at the All-Star game media day. “It makes me happy.”
It was a gamble for the Dodgers because the deal pushed their payroll to around $270 million, which put them into MLB’s second luxury-tax bracket. That means the franchise had to pay a 12.5 percent surcharge on top of the 50 percent they need to pay for spending over the $237 million threshold.
So far, the deal has worked out for both Hernández and the team.
Hernández
is batting .261/.327/.475 with 19 doubles, 19 home runs, and 62 RBIs over 95 games (364 at-bats). His teammates are comparing him to former Dodger Manny Ramirez, regarded as one of the best clutch hitters in MLB.
“It makes me feel proud of myself when you get compared to one of the greatest hitters in baseball history and one of the most clutch guys in big situations,” Hernández
said. “It means a lot to me.”
Last season, Hernández, 31, played in 160 games with the Seattle Mariners, batting .258 with 26 homers and 93 RBI. He
finished among the team leaders in batting average (3rd), homers (3rd), RBI (3rd), slugging percentage (4th), extra-base hits (2nd), total bases (2nd), and hits (2nd). Hernández also had 12 assists tied with Alex Verdugo for the American League lead and tied for second overall in the majors with Verdugo, Ian Happ, and Tatis.
Hernández, a right-handed hitter,
slashed .287/.307/.510 against lefties last season, notching seven homers and driving in 27 batters.
In 2021, he
had his best season in the majors with the Toronto Blue Jays, slashing .296/.346/.524 with career-bests in hits (163), runs (92), homers (32), RBI (112), and stolen bases (12). He made his first All-Star Game in Colorado after hitting .297 with 11 homers and 48 RBI prior to the break.
He later won his second straight Louisville Silver Slugger award and finished 19th in the American League Most Valuable Player voting.
Overall, Hernández, a Cotui, Dominican Republic native, has played eight Major League seasons with the Houston Astros (2016–2017), Blue Jays (2017–2022), and Mariners (2023). He has 159 career homers and 473 RBI in 811 games. He is a career .261 hitter with a .802 OPS while recording 58 outfield assists.
In this year’s Home Run Derby, Hernández beat Bobby Witt Jr., of the Kansas City Royals, 14–13 in the final round. Hernández hit 49 homers over three rounds that totaled 3.98 miles. Hernández received $1 million for winning the contest, while Witt made $750,000.
“If I have to bet, it doesn’t matter who I’m going against, I’m going to bet on myself,” Hernández
said about being an underdog in the Home Run Derby. “People maybe underestimate myself.”
The Dodgers had five other players named to the All-Star team — Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, pitcher Tyler Glasnow, and Mookie Betts. However, Betts and Glasnow won’t play in the game because of injuries.
The key for Los Angeles is to stay healthy for the second half of the season and try to win their first World Series since 2020 and seventh title overall.
The Dodgers are 56–51 at the All-Star break and currently have a seven-game lead in the National League West, ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Padres who are tied for second place. Los Angeles does trail the Philadelphia Phillies (62–34) for the best record in the National League.
However, Los Angeles has dealt with some recent struggles and
has lost five of six games on its recent road trip. The Dodgers are just 4–8 in July and 5–10 over their last 15 games. So, manager Dave Roberts said the All-Star break came at a good time for his team to reset, get fully healthy, and finish the season strongly.
Betts suffered a fractured hand on June 16, and his timeline to return is six to eight weeks, which could get him back in the lineup for the final stretch run.
“We are doing the best we can for who we have out there,” Roberts
said at a postgame press conference on July 7 following a 9–2 loss to the Brewers. “You are better with Mookie Betts in the lineup. I think we have done a nice job of sort of trying to weather it and win baseball games.”
