Enrique Hernández

Enrique José Hernández González Jr. (born August 24, 1991), nicknamed Kike , is a Puerto Rican professional baseball utility player for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, and Boston Red Sox.

The Astros drafted Hernández in the sixth round of the 2009 MLB draft, and he was called up to the majors for the first time in 2014. He has played every position except catcher in the majors, though he has spent the most time in the outfield and at second base. Over the course of his career, Hernández has become known for his play in the postseason, where he has tended to perform significantly better statistically than during the regular season. He was a member of the Dodgers' 2020, 2024, and 2025 World Series championship teams.

Early life Hernández was born in 1991, and 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.

Professional career Houston Astros The Houston Astros drafted Hernández in the sixth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He earned a $150,000 signing bonus.

Hernández was called up to the majors for the first time on July 1, 2014. He made his major league debut the same day, entering a game against the Seattle Mariners as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and collecting two hits, the first of which was a ground-rule double in his first at-bat, off Dominic Leone of the Mariners. Hernández hit his first home run the following day, off Chris Young of the Mariners. In 24 games, he hit .284/.348/.420 for the Astros. Playing for the Marlins on September 26, 2014, Hernández hit a ninth-inning grand slam off Craig Stammen of the Washington Nationals for his first career grand slam in the major leagues. Overall, Hernández appeared in 18 games for the Marlins and batted .175/.267/.425 (seven hits in 40 at bats). He was assigned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers and was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 28, 2015. He was used all over the field, with 20 games at second base, 19 in center field, 17 in left field, 16 at shortstop, two in right field and one at third base. though he missed much of September with a hamstring strain. He played in 76 games for the team in 2015, batting .307/.346/.490, with seven homers and 22 RBI. During the season, he was known for his sense of humor and for wearing a banana suit in the dugout during games in which he was not playing.

In 2016, Hernández was less effective, hitting only .190/.283/.324 with seven homers and 18 RBI in 109 games. He was left off the roster for the first round of the playoffs and was hitless in eight at-bats in the 2016 National League Championship Series. 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 25, 2018, Hernández pitched in a game for the first time in his career, entering in the 16th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies and picking up the loss after walking two batters and giving up a three-run walk-off home run. He was the first position player since Babe Ruth to play in the infield, outfield and give up three runs or more in the same game. He was also the first position player ever to give up a walk-off home run. For the season, he batted .256/.336/.470, hitting a career-high 21 home runs and 52 RBIs. On August 22, 2019, Hernández hit his first career walk-off hit in the team's 3–2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. He would finish the season batting .237/.304/.411 with 17 home runs and a career-high 62 RBIs. On July 23, 2020, Hernández 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. Overall, he had 14 at-bats in the series, with four hits (two of them home runs).

Boston Red Sox 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 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 the team's 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-19 related injured list. Overall during the regular season, Hernández played in 134 games for Boston, batting .250 with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs.

Hernández was Boston's starting center fielder for Opening Day in 2022. He missed the game of May 6 due to briefly being on the COVID-related list. On June 8, he was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hip flexor strain. On July 23, he was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He rejoined the team on August 16. 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.

Prior to the 2023 season, with longtime shortstop Xander Bogaerts gone, Hernández emerged as a leader in the Red Sox clubhouse. He was involved in recruiting former Dodgers teammates Justin Turner and Kenley Jansen to Boston. With both the departure of Bogaerts, and the injury of Trevor Story, Hernández was named to be the Red Sox starting shortstop come opening day. After 46 games starting at shortstop, manager Alex Cora announced that the team was removing him from the position. At the time of the announcement, Hernández led the majors with 14 errors. However, multiple injuries for the Red Sox soon made them move Hernández back to the position, as well as some starts at second base. He played in 86 games for the Red Sox in 2023, batting .222 with 6 home runs and 31 RBI. 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. In 54 games with the Dodgers, he hit .262 with five homers and 30 RBI, he also had three hits in eight at-bats in the 2023 NLDS. He played in 126 games in 2024, appearing at every position except catcher and right field, though getting most of his time at third base while Max Muncy was on the injured list. He hit .229 with 12 homers and 52 RBI.

On February 11, 2025, Hernández re-signed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $6.5 million contract. He struggled in the first half of the 2025 season and eventually was placed on the injured list on July 7 with inflammation in his elbow, which he said had affected his swing. The injury kept him out of action until August 25. After the World Series, he was once again a free agent and underwent surgery to repair a torn muscle in his left elbow that had been bothering him for most of the previous season.

On February 12, 2026, Hernández re-signed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $4.5 million contract. He began the season on the 60-day injured list while rehabbing from his offseason procedure and was not reinstated to the active roster until May 25. However, Hernández suffered a left oblique strain after two games back and returned to the injured list.

International career Hernández played for the Puerto Rico national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, where he won a silver medal.

On October 29, 2018, he was selected to form part of the MLB All-Star team for the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.

In October 2022, it was announced that Hernández once again would represent Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He batted .300 over Puerto Rico's five games, adding two doubles and four RBI in the tournament.

Personal life Hernández and his wife, Mariana, married in December 2018 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They welcomed a daughter in January 2021 and a son in 2026.

During an episode of the baseball podcast On Base with Mookie Betts, Hernández revealed that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), referring to it as both his "superpower" and "kryptonite" when asked to what he attributes his continued postseason success.