WEBVTT - Kiké Hernández (5-25-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.

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<v Speaker 1>He's back. Keyk Hernandez is back tonight, starting at third

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<v Speaker 1>base for the Dodgers, his first major League game since

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<v Speaker 1>Game seven of last year's World Series. Key K, thanks

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<v Speaker 1>a lot for the time. I know they really wore

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<v Speaker 1>you out earlier, so I appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks.

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<v Speaker 3>I guess, yeah, I'm excited to be here talking to

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<v Speaker 3>you about baseball again.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. We've seen you out here for every home stand

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<v Speaker 1>taking ground balls at third base, but obviously you knew

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<v Speaker 1>you weren't going to play in those games. So now

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<v Speaker 1>that it's arrived, can you describe your feelings on your

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<v Speaker 1>opening night.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm excited, man, I was kind of worried because in

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<v Speaker 3>Triple A I wasn't really Guys would ask me, are

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<v Speaker 3>you excited to be back playing?

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<v Speaker 2>I was like, ah, not really.

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<v Speaker 3>But then yesterday I was, you know, at the airport,

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<v Speaker 3>and I'd be walking just thinking about being back and

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<v Speaker 3>all that thing, and I would catch myself smiling. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm definitely excited, a little bit of nervous jitters. So,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, feeling pretty pretty excited to be back, and

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<v Speaker 3>you know, pretty happy to be back on the baseball grind.

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<v Speaker 1>Those feelings must remind you how much you love this

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<v Speaker 1>game still, because if you didn't have them, then maybe

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<v Speaker 1>your time with this game is over.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. No, definitely.

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<v Speaker 3>I always have a hard time finding the balance because

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<v Speaker 3>we all know that October's though the actual the games

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<v Speaker 3>that excite me. But uh, you know, I battle with

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<v Speaker 3>my brain and I lie to myself to to feel excited.

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<v Speaker 2>But now you know it.

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<v Speaker 3>Just it feels like you're always getting those nervous jitters

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<v Speaker 3>in spring training and this or not in spring training

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<v Speaker 3>opening day, and this feels like it. So I'm excited,

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<v Speaker 3>excited to be back. I have a dilemma now, I

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<v Speaker 3>don't know what song to use as a walk up song.

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<v Speaker 3>I haven't thought about it, so I need to figure

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<v Speaker 3>that out right now before game time.

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<v Speaker 2>And yeah, just happy to be back.

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<v Speaker 1>Can you give us a preview of the three that

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<v Speaker 1>you may be thinking of? Absolutely not, Okay, I was

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<v Speaker 1>worried about you in Oklahoma City. I did send you

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<v Speaker 1>a text because I was concerned that you were on

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<v Speaker 1>a minor league rehab assignment for that long at Triple A.

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<v Speaker 1>So how did you deal with being in the minors

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<v Speaker 1>for so long again for the first time in a

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<v Speaker 1>long time.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't know what you mean, man, I you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I was just there playing. Like I told the guys,

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<v Speaker 3>they have a great group of guys there, so my

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<v Speaker 3>three weeks would have felt a lot longer. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I had a great time with those guys, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>just bonding, talking baseball, getting to know them a little better.

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<v Speaker 3>They have a really a lot of really good players

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<v Speaker 3>on that team. And Ei, there's something that I didn't know.

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<v Speaker 3>Albuquerque has a huge Doctor fan base.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I didn't know that.

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<v Speaker 3>That was very overwhelming. I felt like I couldn't leave

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<v Speaker 3>my hotel room.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I used to be their Triple A affiliate back in

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<v Speaker 1>the day.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah I knew that.

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<v Speaker 3>But you know, that doesn't mean that they're going to

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<v Speaker 3>be Dodger fans. But I learned that the hard way.

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<v Speaker 3>It was very humbling. There was a lot of fans

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<v Speaker 3>at the games, you know, I felt like a home

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<v Speaker 3>game in a way, And yeah, I was.

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<v Speaker 2>It was cool to see KK.

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<v Speaker 1>You talked about earlier with the media, just your responsibility

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<v Speaker 1>in the clubhouse now and how you're one of the

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<v Speaker 1>leaders that kind of check guys when they need to

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<v Speaker 1>be checked what was it like being the veteran at

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<v Speaker 1>Triple A for some of these young guys that have

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<v Speaker 1>gotten their taste want to get their chance. What was

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<v Speaker 1>it like for you to kind of be a mentor

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<v Speaker 1>in that way.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it was fun.

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<v Speaker 3>It's the first time in my life I've been the

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<v Speaker 3>oldest guy on the team, so that was different. In Albuquerque,

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<v Speaker 3>actually everybody, everybody's birthday would go up in the Joan

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<v Speaker 3>boutron and that was that was not very nice.

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<v Speaker 2>But yeah, no, it was a lot of fun.

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<v Speaker 3>Those guys love baseball, man, they love baseball and they

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<v Speaker 3>love asking questions.

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<v Speaker 2>And for me, that's what it's all about.

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<v Speaker 3>As a younger guy, it's sometimes it's hard to like,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, go out of your way and like to

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<v Speaker 3>grab a guy and like tell them what to do.

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<v Speaker 3>For me, it's a lot easier when the guy comes

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<v Speaker 3>in and asks questions. And those guys are very receptive

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<v Speaker 3>and they asked a lot of questions, which is a

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<v Speaker 3>good thing.

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<v Speaker 2>You know. It got to open up. And like I said,

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<v Speaker 2>they had.

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<v Speaker 3>A great group of guys, especially on the position players side.

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<v Speaker 2>They have some really really good players and it was

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<v Speaker 2>fun to see.

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<v Speaker 3>I got to see River pitch again and river looks

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<v Speaker 3>the same river that we saw in twenty twenty four,

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<v Speaker 3>so that's very exciting, And yeah, it was. It was

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of fun, man, it was. I didn't necessarily

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<v Speaker 3>play great, but I had a lot of fun those

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<v Speaker 3>three weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>All third base. They didn't really move you around too much.

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<v Speaker 3>I played one game in center in Albuquerque and the

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<v Speaker 3>wind was so bad that I felt like I never

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<v Speaker 3>played outfield in my life.

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<v Speaker 2>And then the last.

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<v Speaker 3>Game in Albuquerque, I was supposed to d h but

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<v Speaker 3>in the minor leagues there's no cage on the road,

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<v Speaker 3>so you kind of have to stay loose, and Dodgers

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<v Speaker 3>didn't want me to do that, so I played second

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<v Speaker 3>game second base. In that game, no balls got hit

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<v Speaker 3>to me, so it was like I didn't play.

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<v Speaker 1>But yeah, well, at least you're prepared tonight. You're starting

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<v Speaker 1>at third base for Max Munsey, who's still dealing with

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<v Speaker 1>his right wrist. And the one thing that I was

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<v Speaker 1>curious about with your elbow, the hitting was the biggest issue.

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<v Speaker 1>When did you know that you could trust it mentally

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<v Speaker 1>physically that you could just let it rip again.

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<v Speaker 3>Once I started swinging again and it wasn't like I

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<v Speaker 3>didn't have any of the of the pain basically in

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<v Speaker 3>my setup, because that was like from the get go.

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<v Speaker 3>It was It wasn't just when my swing started. It

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<v Speaker 3>was in my setup, which was the worst, probably the

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<v Speaker 3>worst part, because it just got me thinking more about

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<v Speaker 3>the pain than anything. I could probably deal with the

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<v Speaker 3>pain if it was just when I was swinging, because

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<v Speaker 3>you're so focused on the pitch and all that that.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it's kind of like a something that comes

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<v Speaker 3>and goes. But for me, it was just holding the

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<v Speaker 3>bat was the problem because you need the extensors to

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<v Speaker 3>hold the bad and that was that was the main problem.

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<v Speaker 3>I wasn't just trying to battle the picture, but I

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<v Speaker 3>was battling myself. But you know, just being able to

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<v Speaker 3>swing pain free is uh, you know, probably probably not

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<v Speaker 3>going to be show hey, but I'm probably gonna be

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<v Speaker 3>better than I was last year. And for me, it's

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<v Speaker 3>just enjoying the game and having fun playing baseball. And

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<v Speaker 3>when I'm in that much pain, I couldn't really have fun.

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<v Speaker 3>So I'm looking forward to having fun playing baseball again.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I speak for the city of la and Dodger fans.

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<v Speaker 1>The Dodgers aren't the Dodgers without Keith k Hernandez, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to be special when you step in that

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<v Speaker 1>batter's box tonight for the first time. I am completely

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<v Speaker 1>expecting a standing ovation because that's how much the city

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<v Speaker 1>loves you and appreciates everything, your spirit, everything you've done

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<v Speaker 1>for the team. So enjoy it tonight and we're all

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<v Speaker 1>happy you're back.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks Dave, that's really nice of you. Thank you.