When the Dodgers acquired slugger Manny Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox at the July 31 trade deadline in 2008, they trailed the Arizona Diamondbacks by 2.0 games in the NL West. Over the next two months, two things happened: 1) They soon found themselves 4.5 games back after a horrible season-high eight-game losing streak; 2) They won the division by 2.0 games over Arizona solely because of Manny Ramirez. In his 53 games with the Dodgers, Ramirez went 74 for 187 with 17 home runs, 53 RBIs and an unbelievable triple-slash of .398/.489/.743 for an unheard-of 1.232 OPS. It was one of the most incredible stretches of offensive power in the history of the game. The spark that Manny had brought to the team was immediate and undeniable. He was an absolute game changer.

Fast-forward to August 30, 2015.

Holding onto a precarious 3.5-game lead over the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers lost utility infielder/outfielder Kiké Hernandez to a hamstring injury. At the time the 24-year-old San Juan, Puerto Rico native was leading the team with his .308 batting average and had supplanted rookie Joc Pederson (and his then .211 batting average) as the team’s everyday centerfielder.

During Kiké’s four-week/26-game absence, the Dodgers went through their four longest losing streaks of the season – one of five-games and three of four-games. In fact, had the Giants not played even worse than the Dodgers during that stretch, they could have passed the Dodgers in the NL West standings – but they didn’t.

One day after Hernandez landed on the DL, the Dodgers were involved in a crucial game against the Giants at Dodger Stadium – a game that went 14 innings and lasted five hours and 29 minutes – just 13 minutes shy of the longest home game (time-wise) in franchise history. In the bottom of the 14th inning and the score knotted at four, Hernandez suddenly appeared in the Dodgers dugout wearing a banana sweatshirt – a trademark of his popular rally banana campaign which he started earlier in the season. Although disabled players are permitted in the dugout during games, MLB requires that they be in team uniform to do so – certainly not dressed like a banana.

“Andrew saw me and said, ‘You’ve got to go down there.’ I said, ‘I’ll get fined.’ He said, ‘I’ll pay your fine.’ Gotta do what the boss says.” (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

As soon as Hernandez arrived in the dugout in his banana attire, the Dodgers promptly loaded the bases and won the game 5-4 on an Adrian Gonzales walk-off single. Even though Hernandez was facing a fine from MLB – a fine that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman agreed to pay for the popular outfielder – it was a game-changer. It was the spark that the Dodgers so desperately needed and seemed to stick with them for the remainder of the season.

“I take pride in being a good teammate. I know the energy that I have, it can be unique sometimes,” said Hernandez prior to Wednesday’s NLDS workout at Dodger Stadium. “If I have it, why not just be that guy? Like I said, I take pride. As much as I take pride in being a good player, I take pride in being a good teammate.

“I know what a pick-me-up guy could be in the clubhouse if someone’s having a rough day,” added Hernandez. “A little joke can turn somebody’s day around. I love that feeling to be able to make people laugh and put a smile on someone’s face. It’s pretty cool to be like that.”

Being that guy hasn’t gone unnoticed by Kiké’s teammates or by Dodgers manager Don Mattingly, who is completely on-board with it.

“I love Kiké around,” Mattingly said. “Kiké does bring a good energy.”

Hernandez being a good player hasn’t gone unnoticed either. In fact, in his first at-bat fresh off the DL on September 28, he hit a 12th-inning pinch-hit single in an eventual 3-2 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park. The very next night he led off the game with a single to left field off of Giants ace Madison Bumgarner and then homered off of him in the top of the third inning in what would end up being an 8-0 rout of the Giants to clinch the National League West title for the third consecutive season.

“I already talked to the guys. I set up a team meeting and said, ‘Thank you,’ to all of them for waiting for me to clinch and celebrate,” Hernandez joked after the game.

In only his third at-bat off the disabled list, Hernandez sent a Madison Bumgarner 86-MPH slider 448 feet into the seats at AT&T Park to help the Dodgers clinch their record-setting third consecutive NL West title. (Video Capture courtesy of SportsNet LA – Click on image to view video)

Although Mattingly declined to name his starting center fielder for Friday night’s National League Division Series opener at Dodger Stadium, he has repeatedly said that he is going to put his best eight players on the field each night. And with Joc Pederson finishing the regular season with a .210 batting average and a franchise-tying 170 strikeouts and with Kiké Hernandez finishing the regular season with his team-best .307 batting average and 46 strikeouts, the guy who gives the Dodgers the best chance to win is blatantly obvious – or at least it should be.

Go with the game-changer, Don.