Kiké recalls TENSE encounters with Utley, Peavy, Lackey on 6-1-1 Podcast

Every player has their own “Welcome to the big leagues” moment once they finally reach the sport’s highest level. It’s that realization that playing in the Majors is different than everything else.

For Dodgers utilityman and fan favorite Kiké Hernández, that realization didn’t come on a single play. It had to do more with the players themselves. Once Hernández made his MLB debut with the Astros in July 2014, he quickly found out that the guys up here are really, really, really intense.

As Hernández told Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard on the latest episode of The 6-1-1 Podcast, he remembers facing Red Sox starters John Lackey and Jake Peavy -- two pitchers who weren’t afraid to show some fire during a game -- on consecutive days with Houston.

Hernández recalls having good at-bats against both former All-Stars, taking close pitches just off the corner. But apparently, Lackey and Peavy weren't big fans of Hernández’s plate discipline.

“They were trying to get me to expand and all this, and these dudes, for back-to-back games, were yelling at me on the mound,” Hernández said. “And I was, ‘What’s happening, man?’ Nobody’s ever really yelled at me from the mound, and you’ve got these two really old guys just angry at life -- they are mad at me because I’m not swinging at balls.”

The intensity on the diamond ratcheted up for Hernández when he made his first visit to Philadelphia that September with the Marlins. He remembers being on second base and trying to chat midgame with Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. Rollins and Howard immediately start laughing because they know from many years of experience that’s a bad idea.

“I said, ‘What’s up?’ and it was one of the first times in my entire life that somebody has looked at me in the eyes but through me at the same time and not said a single word,” Hernández said.

“We understand,” Rollins responded.

“That’s about right,” Howard added.

Hernández continued: “And I was just like, ‘What is wrong with you, man?’"

However, Hernández would soon see Utley’s softer side once the two became Dodgers teammates in 2015.

“Little did I know that a couple years later, I’m calling him ‘Dad,'” he said.

Be sure to listen to the full 52-minute episode for everything from Hernández’s entertaining conversation with Rollins and Howard. The 6-1-1 Podcast is available on MLB.com, MLB.TV, YouTube and all podcast platforms.