Fans who have followed Major League Baseball for a while most certainly remember Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson. The oft-controversial Abington, PA native and first round draft pick in 1966 by the (then) Kansas City Athletics out of Arizona State University spent a remarkable 21 seasons in the Bigs – 10 with the A’s, five with the New York Yankees, five with the (then) California Angels, one with the Baltimore Orioles, and one more with the A’s respectively.

During his five seasons with the Yankees, Jackson (rightfully) earned the nickname “Mr. October” for his uncanny ability to crank things up during the postseason, including – and especially – hitting crucial game-changing home runs.

Well there’s a new “Mr. October” and his name is Kiké Hernández, the 33-year-old San Juan, Puerto Rico native super utility infielder/outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Drafted in the sixth round in 2009 by the Houston Astros out of American Military Academy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, the extremely popular San Juan, Puerto Rico native has consistently come up with crucial game-changing hits in his (thus far) nine postseason games with the Dodgers that includes 10 home runs.

Kiké’s sixth-inning two-run home run in Game-3 of the 2024 National League Championship Series against the New York Mets at Citi Field on Wednesday evening turned a 2-0 Dodgers lead into a 4-0 lead in their eventual 8-0 shutout of the Amazin’ Mets. His 378-foot blast just cleared the wall in left center field.

“As far as my homer, I knew that I hit it and I thought it was going to be way gone, and I saw (Mets left fielder Brandon) Nimmo try to jump for it, and I kinda panicked for half a second, and I don’t care if it was an inside-the-park, a homer’s a homer,” Hernández said postgame.

Keep on homering, “Mr October!”

Play Ball!

  *  *  *  *  *  *