LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are roaring toward October, and the biggest question surrounding the clubhouse is no longer whether they have enough talent, but whether they can find room for all of it. On the latest live episode of the Dodgers Dogout show presented by Dodgers Nation, former Dodgers World Series champion and SportsNet LA analyst Jerry Hairston Jr. joined the program to break down a surging roster, a resurgent superstar, and a rookie who may be forcing his way onto the postseason roster.
At the center of the conversation was Hyeseong Kim, whose first road appearance dazzled and whose first home showing may have been even better. Kim delivered two hits, including a double that gave the Dodgers the lead in the sixth inning, and his at-bats have been defined by patience, discipline and an almost old-school approach at the plate. Hairston did not hold back his admiration.
“What impressed me most is his skill as a hitter,” Hairston said. “His patience, his discipline in the strike zone, his ability to recognize pitches. He is an old-school, classic hitter.
He is not just a guy who swings for power. He is a guy who is going to hit for a high average. He likes to understand what the pitcher is trying to do, and he will not chase pitches out of the zone.
He waits for his pitch.”
Hairston compared the young infielder to a smaller version of Freddie Freeman, praising his strike-zone discipline, his bat-to-ball skill and his willingness to take a walk rather than expand the zone. The numbers back it up. Kim has walked eight times while striking out only twice, a ratio that screams elite plate control for a player adjusting to the highest level of competition on the planet.
That discipline has translated into a mindset that teammates and coaches have noticed. After Tuesday’s game, Kim told reporters he plans to silence doubters with his defense, a comment that revealed a confident, almost star-like mentality. Hairston believes that confidence is warranted, and he went a step further when asked whether Kim has done enough to earn a spot on the Dodgers postseason roster.
“First of all, he deserves a spot. He definitely deserves a spot,” Hairston said. “I do not know if he will make it based on their plans, but in my opinion, I think he deserves a spot.
I think he will be on the roster for two reasons. First, he can be a pinch-hitter off the bench, a left-handed bat who comes in when needed. And he adds an element I think we desperately need, and that is speed.”
Hairston painted a vivid picture of how Kim could impact a playoff game even without starting. If the Dodgers need a runner to score from first on a double in the eighth or ninth inning, Kim can do it. If they need someone to steal a base in a critical moment, Kim can do it.
And with Shohei Ohtani returning to the lineup, Kim has already begun adjusting to a role as a designated hitter and occasional substitute, essentially getting five at-bats a game in that capacity, which has helped him grow comfortable with the rhythm of coming off the bench.
The comparison Hairston kept returning to was Miguel Cabrera, whom he watched as a young player and immediately recognized as a future superstar. “When I look at kids in Double-A or even in high school, I do not know what I am looking at when I see a professional player, but I know it when I see it,” Hairston said. “It is kind of like me.
I do not know what I am looking at, but I know what I am looking at. When I go to see young kids play, I go looking for certain things. Boom.
That is it. He is a professional player. Jose Ramirez, that is it.
I have seen enough. I know what he can do and I know what he will do.”
Hairston also pointed to the invaluable experience Kim is gaining simply by learning alongside Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Ohtani, whose presence was felt clearly in the clubhouse. That education, combined with Kim’s speed, his hitting prowess and his youthful energy, could be exactly what a team chasing a third straight championship needs. “It helps because it brings that energy and that passion,” Hairston said.
“You can feel it. It looks like he has breathed new life into that locker room.”
That energy has coincided with a dramatic turnaround from Kyle Tucker, whose early-season struggles had many around the sport wondering whether his best days were behind him. Hairston never believed that. He argued repeatedly that great hitters who have performed for years do not simply collapse; when they struggle, there is usually a reason, whether injury or a mechanical flaw, and the odds of a return to form are far higher than the odds of a permanent decline.
That prediction has been vindicated in spectacular fashion.
Tucker has found his groove, his power is back, and his confidence appears restored. Aaron Bates, the hitting coach, has been working tirelessly with him, and the results are showing up on the field. Tucker recently said he was trying to control the ball from the inside and from the top, a comment that Hairston seized on immediately.
“I remember telling you, move from A to B, from A to B,” Hairston said. “Once you separate, you have to move. You do not have time to drop because your swing is done.
You have to move from A to B because of pitchers throwing 95 miles per hour. You have to get the bat head out there.”
That is exactly what Tucker has started doing. He set a goal for himself to move more directly from A to B, to control those fastballs so he could handle them and generate backspin. The results have been unmistakable.
He is staying behind the ball far better, his bat path is improving as he catches pitches out front, and he is no longer collapsing his back side. The home run he hit, a left-on-left shot after Max Muncy, staying on that breaking ball and remaining balanced behind it, was Tucker at his absolute best.
The numbers are staggering. Tucker’s OPS has topped 1000 in September, and he has slugged 776 over his last 15 games. “He looks like a completely new man,” Hairston said.
“It is the perfect time of year. You love to see that. This is why I said he was not 41 or 43 years old.
He was 10 years younger than that. He just turned 30. So I knew he was not old.
It was just a mechanical flaw. Once a player like him figures it out, the challenge begins for the rest of the league.”
Tucker has also spoken about how the support of his teammates and the quality of the clubhouse has eased the burden of his struggles. He understands that fans pay hard-earned money and have every right to voice their opinions, but he wants to perform not just for himself but for the men beside him. Hairston, who has lived through the pressure of playing in Los Angeles, offered a passionate defense of that mindset.
“Before anyone boos a player, we blame ourselves. We live the pressure. We have to live with it.
We are out there at two in the afternoon trying to improve our swings for a seven o’clock game,” Hairston said. “Dodgers fans are the best. They wait months before they boo.
I have been in cities where they boo after the first or second game.”
The ripple effect of Tucker’s resurgence has been felt throughout the lineup. Mookie Betts, who has also endured a frustrating season by his own lofty standards, has caught fire at the same time. Betts recently admitted he would not reach the numbers he had hoped for this year, so he decided to simply go out, enjoy himself and be himself.
That shift in approach has paid off. He is no longer collapsing and hitting weak fly balls to right field. Instead, he looks more like Tucker, staying balanced over the ball, driving the bat head forward and finishing with his top hand, which allows him to generate backspin and drive the ball out of the park.
Betts has six home runs and 18 RBIs this month, and the classic Mookie swing has returned. “It is so much fun to see Mookie Betts at the top of his game, because when he is in that state, the atmosphere in the clubhouse changes,” Hairston said. “You see the backspin on the home runs.
He is starting to feel it.”
The conversation then turned to Edwin Diaz, who returned to the mound Tuesday night and immediately recaptured attention. Diaz was touching 98 miles per hour and recording strikeouts again, a sight that had many wondering whether he could still claim a spot on the postseason roster. Manager Dave Roberts said the team would use him in low-leverage situations for now, but Hairston believes there is still time for Diaz to prove he deserves high-leverage work in October.
“There is time, but not a lot,” Hairston said. “I think he understands that. Like Kyle Tucker and like Mookie Betts, these players are not old.
They are still in their prime. It is mechanical. When his body opens up early, anyone whose body opens up early, like a middle linebacker, if his front shoulder opens, you will see a lot of balls sail past the receiver.
For a pitcher, you have to be able to throw downhill and keep your body in line. If he does that and continues to do it over the next few outings, he will keep getting the results we saw last night.”
Diaz recorded two strikeouts in a positive outing, and Hairston emphasized that when Diaz is right, he is one of the best relievers in all of baseball. The issue has never been talent; it has been mechanics. Just as a hitter cannot succeed with imprecise mechanics, a pitcher cannot command the strike zone without them.
If Diaz has truly corrected the flaw, he could be a difference-maker in October, and the thought of hearing Timmy Trumpet’s “Narco” blaring through a playoff ballpark is enough to excite any Dodgers fan.
The show closed with a lighter segment, a hypothetical question about which legendary player Hairston would most like to see win a World Series ring: Ken Griffey Jr. , Ted Williams or Tony Gwynn. Hairston professed his love for Gwynn and Williams, calling Williams perhaps the best front-foot hitter and finisher he has ever seen, but ultimately sided with Griffey.
“I have to ride with the Juniors,” Hairston said. “Ken Griffey Jr. , Cal Ripken Jr.
, Sammy Davis Jr. I am with Griffey. He was my teammate, and he was a great teammate.
I truly believe that if Junior had not suffered those hamstring injuries, he would have hit 800 home runs. Go back and look at Ken Griffey Jr. from 1991 to 1997.
The home run totals were amazing.”
Hairston added that if Griffey had won two or three World Series titles and approached 800 home runs, his career trajectory would have made him the Michael Jordan of baseball, firmly in the conversation as the greatest player of all time. The hosts agreed, noting that Griffey’s 2008 walk-up song with the Reds might be the greatest entrance music in the history of the sport.
As the Dodgers continue winning and the calendar flips toward October, the pieces are falling into place. Kim is making a compelling case for a roster spot with his discipline, speed and maturity beyond his years. Tucker has silenced the doubters with a September surge that could carry into the playoffs.
Betts looks like himself again. Ohtani is back in the building, sunflower seeds in hand, in good spirits. And Diaz may be rounding into form at precisely the right moment.
For a team chasing a third consecutive championship, the margin between glory and heartbreak is razor thin. But with a lineup clicking, a bullpen finding its footing and a rookie injecting youthful energy into a star-studded clubhouse, the Dodgers appear to be peaking at exactly the right time. The road to October runs through Los Angeles, and the Dodgers are loading up for the ride.
