By: Sofia Villalpando
Baseball is one of the sports that draws fans in because of friendship, love, and inclusivity. In Major League
Baseball, there are thirty teams with 40-man rosters who interact for 189 days of the year, where many teammates and competitors create friendships and bonds that last throughout their time spent in the league.
Justin Turner and Enrique “Kike” Hernandez are two of the most iconic players that were on the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series Roster. Their incredible teamwork at Third Base and Shortstop for the majority of the 2020 season, not to mention their six seasons spent together in total on the Dodgers, was crucial to the success of the Dodgers over the past decade. The team’s remarkable 9 National League Pennant wins from 2014-2021, 6 being won with both Turner and Hernandez, was glorified in the media, with some of the biggest moments covering Turner and Hernandez’s friendship. However, after the two got to show off their World Series rings, Hernandez joined the Boston Red Sox for the following season, and two years later, Turner followed Hernandez to Boston after the trade deadline.
The two’s hilarious chemistry left Dodger fans devastated over the past three years, after losing two of their best players with hearts of gold. However, the pair are now playing together on the same team once again, where their spark has been ignited for the second time around.
Looking back to when the two were healthy and successful on the Dodgers, both Hernandez and Turner had incredible performances during the 2019 baseball season. They both played infield positions the majority of the time, and exceeded 20 home runs in the 2019 season. According to ESPN, the average number of homeruns hit per game for all 30 teams was 1.39 home runs, and together, Kike and Justin had 58. The pair had increased the Dodgers’ home run statistics exponentially while also helping clutch games that the team needed to win to get their Pennant win that same year. Their performances on the field were also unmatched, both having over 60 double plays throughout the regular game season.
Overall, both Hernandez and Turner have incredible statistics, each having nearly 100 hits and 100 runs in the 2019 season which were some of the most outstanding on the Dodgers.
Aside from their success with the Dodgers, the two interacted with the media more than any other player on their team. They brought laughs to the fans, their teammates, and coaches while still putting on a performance each time they walked up to the plate. There is no doubt that these two are friends for life.
Looking at their previous success together and their fun-filled friendship, we can infer how excited the 2018 World Champions must be to acquire such a pair. Looking ahead, we can see that the two should bring a significant amount of runs and increase the Red Sox’s on-base percentage in this upcoming 2023 season. Being able to maintain their friendship and work ethic has gotten them a World Series ring before, and hopefully can get them farther in the offseason than the 2022 season.
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