Versatile Red Sox lead-off man Kiké Hernández has developed into an every day player during his first season in Boston, and a very good one at that.
Hernández, who missed time on the COVID-19 related injured list, played 134 games for the Red Sox this season. It was the third-most in his career and most since the 2018 season, which he spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who has always appreciated the player Hernández is, explained how he achieved a personal goal this season with the help of the 30-year-old.
"My goal coming into the season, I wanted people to recognize him as a good baseball player," Cora said Thursday before the Red Sox faced the Rays in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.
"Not only the fun guy, the good kid, everybody likes him. No, no, no. I wanted people to recognize that he's one of the best players in the big leagues, the whole package," Cora added. "He had a great offensive season. He's a great base runner. And he's a great defender. I'm just very proud of what he's done, and what he means to the group in there."
Cora specifically noted how the center fielder has shown off his "great baseball IQ." Hernández, after all, did just that with a game-altering defensive play during the AL Wild Card Game against the New York Yankees.
Hernández has 320 at-bats as a center fielder (88 games) with 168 at-bats as a second baseman (45 games). All told, he compiled a .250 batting average with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs for the Red Sox with a 4.9 WAR.
