In the winter of 2016, Dodgers utility player and Kik¨¦ Hern¨¢ndez had just finished his second season with the Dodgers, yet to become the postseason hero that he is now known for in Los Angeles. So, that offseason, he returned to Puerto Rico to play for the Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League. He got to meet a talented first baseman from Japan that offseason: Kazuma Okamoto, who hammered two home runs for Samurai Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
These days, Okamoto is a star. He's bashed 262 home runs -- ninth most among active NPB players -- topping 30 home runs for six straight years from 2018-23. His image is included among Tokyo Giants legends in the hallway near the clubhouse beneath the Tokyo Dome.
Back then, though, he was still a young player finding his way in the game, having just completed his first full season with the Tokyo Giants.
"You could tell he was really talented, but very raw," Hern¨¢ndez said before the start of the Tokyo Series on Tuesday. "To be walking in [to the Tokyo Dome] day one and see him on the wall of the Giants legends, it was pretty cool to see."
"Seeing baseball outside of Japan, and having the opportunity to play with and against high-level international teams, makes me want to work harder, do better," Okamoto said through translator Yukino Imai. "It also makes me realize how fun the sport is, as well."
The two got to reconnect in 2018 when Hern¨¢ndez came to Japan to play in the MLB All-Star Series. This week, the two played against each other again when the Tokyo Giants took on the Dodgers in an exhibition game on Saturday. Unfortunately, they didn't get a chance to speak with each other, only waving from across the field.
"I consider myself pretty fortunate to cross paths with him," Hern¨¢ndez said, "and that I got to say hello from afar."
"I waved to him, and of course I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't have a chance," Okamoto said. "But we're still friends. We know each other well."
Though Hern¨¢ndez only played only two innings that day, Okamoto ended up hitting a ball directly to the Dodger.
"He popped out to me," Hern¨¢ndez said. "I almost dropped it on purpose to see if he could get on base and [I could] say hi. But unfortunately, we weren't able to speak."
The two are well-versed in international competition. Okamoto is the reigning World Baseball Classic champion and this series has only made him more excited for next year's tournament.
[Playing and becoming the champions in the World Baseball Classic] felt super great, and it¡¯s also a good experience for me to be able to play together with top-level players. Watching Shohei Ohtani play yesterday in person made me want to go back [to the Classic] again with the Japanese national team."
Hern¨¢ndez agrees that there's something special about the international tournament. He's represented Puerto Rico at the 2017 and '23 tournaments and puts the experience up there with the World Series.
¡°I¡¯ve played in four World Series and the WBC is up there with the World Series, if not even more special when it comes to the energy of the crowd."