Dodgers News: Andrew Friedman Encouraged Rally Banana Jacket

When the Los Angeles Dodgers placed Kiké Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list, they lost one of their hottest hitters; however, they did not lose the energy that he brings.

In the later innings of their 14-inning marathon game, the young utility man was seen in the dugout wearing a banana-shaped jacket. Hernandez introduced the “Rally Banana” earlier in the season and it has become synonymous with his name. The “Rally Banana” jacket proved to be worthy when the Dodgers won on an Adrian Gonzalez walk-off single in the bottom of the 14th inning.

After the game, Hernandez talked about why he was absent from the dugout towards the end of the ninth inning. “As soon as we got to the bottom of the ninth and we were still tied, I came upstairs because I know myself,” Hernandez said. “I know that if we walked off, I was probably going to jump down there and forget that I had bad hamstring, so I came in here to contain myself.”

But as the game wore on, Hernandez received the orders to wear the jacket in the dugout to spark the team. “I started wearing the banana suit in like the 12th inning,” the 24-year-old said. “Andrew [Friedman] was telling me, ‘Hey man you got to go out there’ and I said ‘No, I’ll get fined. He said ‘I’ll pay your fine’. So you know I gotta to do what the big boss tells me to do, so I went out there.

In the end, the Dodgers won and no word of a fine has been received. It’s interesting to see that Friedman would encourage the “Rally Banana”, considering he downplayed the significance of chemistry; however, he did say winning brings chemistry and the jacket brought a win.