And an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker.
All right, we're sitting with the man that has been teammates with Clayton Kershaw longer than any player on this roster, and that's the one and only Key k Hernandez, who is starting in left field today behind Kershaw.
Thanks a lot for the time.
Yeah, you're welcome. I didn't really get a choice, so yeah.
You know you want to spend more quality time with me.
No, I'm doing this for Kurse, not for you, but yes, whatever you need.
Okay, thank you, and it's great to have you in the starting lineup behind Kershaw. You obviously are aware that he's only eight strikeouts away from three thousand.
What does he meant to you as a teammate.
I think kursh has been an inspiration. You know, I got here a lot of strikeouts ago, and when I got here, he was in the midst of one of
the greatest runs that pitcher has ever put together. And if you didn't know who, if you didn't know the name, if you weren't aware of who he was, what he had done in the game, and you just observed the way that he handled his business and the way that he worked and his routine and all that, you would think that he'd be a guy that wasn't even establishing the big leagues, you know, guy that was hungry, guy doing whatever it took to stay at the big league level.
He worked harder than anybody in the in that locker room. You never just you never saw him just sitting in his locker. He was always doing something. And you know for him to do that, you know, coming off an MVP season's third side young and he was I would say the best way to if I had to describe in one word, it was a perfectionist.
How would you describe the way your friendship, your relationship with him has grown since twenty fifteen.
It's grown a lot. I mean, I he with my personality. It's not easy to be around pictures that you can't necessarily talk to on start day. So we we we it's a few times the first couple of years.
But uh, but no, man, uh you.
Know, he's uh, we can't be any we can't be more different, but we're very similar at the same time when it comes to the baseball and all this, all these things, so you know, I see curse as a as a great example for for for a lot of things, you know, leading the pitching staff, leading by example in the locker room. A great family man, great great dad. You know, Curse is one of those guys that is if you had to teach show your kids how to handle themselves, you you you show the.
Curse when you look at him, even though you're a position player. Do you feel like he sets the tone for everybody else to raise their level of work ethic?
Yeah, that's that's exactly what we're trying to get at the first question. You know, Uh, guy that has done that much and he's still working that hard, it.
Just it pushes you.
It inspires you to work harder and and and keep trying to improve your game. And of course he's uh, he's uh, he's a very much, very very different picture than when when I first got.
To this team. But if it wasn't for his work ethic.
And his dead cation and and is desired to be better each and every day.
Uh, the evolution of Clayton, not.
Just as a as a guy, but as a pitcher has been incredible. And you know, to still be out there and and his stuff is a lot different, you'd say that than ten years ago. Uh, he's got new pitches, but uh, you know, and he still goes out there.
And and and.
Manage manages the manages to to keep him off off the off the board scoring runs.
Uh.
You know, it's it's really impressive. And you know, uh, every time I hear that's on a Dodger stadium, it puts me in a better mood. And it's just maybe it's a coincidence, but some of my better games as a doctor have been behind Clayton.
Is that for everybody? Does it?
Does it raise the level of focus and intensity when you play behind him?
Uh? Yeah, I mean whenever you have those guys on the mound, you just you want to be great for them behind them, and especially guys that found the strikes on the way that he does.
He gets a lot of early contact.
Guys are trying trying to get out of the batter's box as soon as they can so that they don't strike out there. You know, he has the curve. Boy as a slider, he has the fastball, so guys don't want to get to two strikes with him. So a lot of guys swing early and he manufactures a lot of weak contact because he throws a lot of pitches off the strike zone that looks like strikes, and guys are are, you know, being too aggressive because they don't
want to get to two strikes. And he gets a lot of early contacts, so he keeps you, he keeps you active on the defensive side. He never puts you on your heels by you know, just walking the house or anything like that. And of course he's Clayton Kershaw, so you just want to make the place for him. And I've been fortunate enough to play behind him a lot and make a lot of really nice place for him.
K He said that Freddie Freeman has made him aware as he gets closer to three thousand strikeouts? How aware and how much do you think he's aware of going into today and fighting against trying to chase those strikeouts?
He knows, he's he's very aware, you know, Clayton, he's a he's a very self aware person. He always knows what he needs to do. He's a he's he's I know it for a fact, he's aware. Because we had a conversation about him potentially flying some of his former catchers for the day that he could get the three thousand strikeout in a perfect world.
He he he.
Does it at home, but I honestly would love to be behind him when he gets those that three thousand strikeout, And if he can do it today, that'd be amazing. That way, we can just get it out of the way and and focus on.
Just the rest of the season.
But yeah, he's aware, and he's he's joked around like he's like, what if I'm sitting at tween n nine ninety nine and I want to get that last strikeout on a heater and I try to overthrow it and he never get that strike out, But he's going to get that strikeout, and it doesn't really matter what pitch he uses, because you know, the only pitch that would that would not be an iconic strikeout would be the split, just because he hasn't had that. Of his three thousand,
not many of them have been on a split. But either way, three thousand strikeout is allowed to strikeouts, and that's why not many pictures have done it. And you know, it's it's always special when you get to be part of a small part of history.
Yeah, it's awesome that you're here for it. It's awesome that you're in the starting lineup playing behind Kershaw and hopefully whenever he gets that three thousand strikeout, you'll be there behind him as well.
Thanks a lot for the time.
Amazing.
If I'm behind the play or behind the behind him on the field and you're.
Doing television like that's wow, unbelievable. Huh.
Another great moment in Denver.
Another great moment in Denver. Thanks a lot, Thank you so much.