Speaker 1: We're back at Dodgers Stadium with the Dodgers and Key
Speaker 1: K Hernandez. This is key K time August September and
Speaker 1: we all know October. Key K, thanks a lot for
Speaker 1: the time appreciated.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess I didn't have a choice.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, I helped you out with your pregame
Speaker 1: drills while do you know Ebol was meeting with the
Speaker 1: media and you're helping me out right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Now, I understand why you're a pro prilayer and you
Speaker 3: don't really love to criticize players, because I can see
Speaker 3: that you weren't very good at this game.
Speaker 2: So I appreciate you helping me out and all and
Speaker 2: here we are now.
Speaker 1: I took it for granted. I was across from a
Speaker 1: really great defender, maybe the best versatile defensive player in
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball, and I was going too light on
Speaker 1: that baseball that you use.
Speaker 3: It's okay, this is radio. People can't really see what happened,
Speaker 3: So let's get to business.
Speaker 1: Okay, key K. Dave Roberts said the other day, you're
Speaker 1: playing your best baseball. Do you feel like you're starting
Speaker 1: to hit your stride at the right time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm definitely feeling better to play.
Speaker 3: Uh you know, uh, getting this stretch of games in
Speaker 3: a row, and uh this has definitely helped to get
Speaker 3: into a little bit of a rhythm here. You know,
Speaker 3: of course, our roster is pretty beaten down right now
Speaker 3: and we're not playing great baseball, so uh, you know,
Speaker 3: I recognized right away that I was gonna you know,
Speaker 3: there was not a lot of people to to to
Speaker 3: cover third base, so I was gonna get a pretty
Speaker 3: good chance to play. And uh, I realized that it
Speaker 3: was the right time to rise up to the occasion.
Speaker 2: And uh, you know, I'm playing probably.
Speaker 3: The best best two three weeks stretch of games that
Speaker 3: I played this year, and I'm not trying to really
Speaker 3: think too much about it. I'm just trying to, you know,
Speaker 3: go out there and keep having fun playing baseball and
Speaker 3: uh doing my part.
Speaker 1: Do you feel like the pitching, I know, we we
Speaker 1: have fun with that, but you feel like that's part
Speaker 1: of having fun and just making you play loose and
Speaker 1: just play the game.
Speaker 2: Ah, well, I guess, but not really.
Speaker 3: Uh, I just uh, you know, the last two times,
Speaker 3: the two times I pitched this year, I've been in
Speaker 3: a little bit of an easier situation than uh, the
Speaker 3: only time I had pitched before in my career. So
Speaker 3: U so it's easy to have fun when it's not
Speaker 3: a tide game and you're on the bump not really
Speaker 3: knowing what the heck you're doing. But uh but yeah,
Speaker 3: I know, just it's just trying to you know, trying
Speaker 3: to enjoy the little things and uh, you know, trying
Speaker 3: to cherish each each moment. It's been a it's been
Speaker 3: a grind of a season for me. Offensively, I feel
Speaker 3: like defensively, I'd gotten back to to being the player
Speaker 3: that I've been throughout my career. I feel like last
Speaker 3: year was a little bit of an outlier, uh, especially
Speaker 3: because of you know, I don't like to put excuses,
Speaker 3: but the reality was that I was hurt and I
Speaker 3: wasn't really understanding why I was struggling defensively. But uh,
Speaker 3: you know, at least this year I've been I've been
Speaker 3: doing you know, what I usually do defensively everywhere, and uh,
Speaker 3: you know, obviously it was about performing at the plate,
Speaker 3: and uh, you know, the last two weeks have been
Speaker 3: have been better. So uh, you know, hopefully we can
Speaker 3: build off that and uh, you know, keep it going
Speaker 3: so that I'm locked in when when the real fun starts. Kay.
Speaker 1: I love the way you play the game, but I
Speaker 1: also love what you bring in the clubhouse. And I
Speaker 1: know everybody talks about you know, your great personality, your
Speaker 1: joyful personality, But it feels like at this point in
Speaker 1: time of the season, you bring the edge and urgency
Speaker 1: this team needs. Do you feel that Do you feel
Speaker 1: like this team needs a little bit more of that?
Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, I believe we need urgency. We need
Speaker 3: to we need to edge. It's easy, you know, when
Speaker 3: we look at the our last month or so of baseball,
Speaker 3: we've been pretty inconsistent. We've been like, you know, as
Speaker 3: a team, we've been up and down, and and I
Speaker 3: feel like it's easy for us to, you know, forget
Speaker 3: who we are as a team and and and forget
Speaker 3: that we're right right among the top of the best
Speaker 3: teams in the league. And I think sometimes we forget
Speaker 3: to show that on the field. And you know, I
Speaker 3: think obviously getting close closer to to October and all
Speaker 3: that bring some some sense of urgency in me as well.
Speaker 3: But I think the fact that my season has been
Speaker 3: such a grind and filled with struggles that seeing all
Speaker 3: the injuries happen. It was kind of a wake up
Speaker 3: call for me and it was time to get going. Otherwise,
Speaker 3: you know, opportunities and my career is going to you know,
Speaker 3: get shortened out. But that's something that's out of their
Speaker 3: control and you try not to think about it. But definitely,
Speaker 3: I it helped me open my eyes and bring some
Speaker 3: sense of urgency.
Speaker 2: On the field and when I playing, so hopefully I
Speaker 2: can keep it going.
Speaker 1: Ten years of service time was accomplished this year. We
Speaker 1: can remember when you first arrived here at Dodger Stadium.
Speaker 1: One of your mentors, I guess, for a lack of
Speaker 1: better term, was Chase Sutley. I haven't asked you this
Speaker 1: since you came back. How much do you still tap
Speaker 1: into that and do you feel some sort of responsibility
Speaker 1: to pay forward what Chase Sutley did for you?
Speaker 3: Yeah? I feel like I always, you know, I as
Speaker 3: long as younger players are willing to receive information and
Speaker 3: and and and get help, I'm always willing to do that.
Speaker 2: I feel like sometimes there's there's guys that.
Speaker 3: I don't know why it is, but like they want
Speaker 3: to it's almost like they want to fail before uh
Speaker 3: before searching for help and uh but uh, yeah, I
Speaker 3: mean Chase and I obviously we have very very different,
Speaker 3: polar opposite personality, so uh, I do my part in
Speaker 3: the best way I can. But uh, obviously, uh the
Speaker 3: intensity that Chase brought into the clubhouse is uh, it's
Speaker 3: not an intensity that I'm gonna bring. It's gonna be
Speaker 3: a totally different intensity. Mine is going to be more
Speaker 3: of a ball of energy intensity than when his is
Speaker 3: no time to f around you.
Speaker 1: Know, Yeah, y K, great to catch up with you.
Speaker 1: City of Los Angeles embraces you every time you're out there,
Speaker 1: and they love you. So this is your second home
Speaker 1: and appreciate the time.
Speaker 2: Oh thanks Dave.