Kiké Hernandez may be Senor Octubre for the Red Sox this postseason. In high school, he was Senor Cupid. Or, perhaps, Senor Amor.
Just ask Michelle Alfaro, superintendent of American Military Academy in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Kiké’s alma mater. She recalled Kiké’s fundraising efforts around Valentine’s Day when his senior class was short on funds for its upcoming senior prom.
What did Kiké do then as a 17-year-old high school senior? Dressed up like Cupid, interviewed girls and took a photo with them -- for a fee. White wings attached to his back. Red ribbon across his body. A pink heart with “Estoy bien bueno” written on it (“I look very well”). And red tights, of course. If he had red socks, that would have been quite the prologue, right?
“I will never forget this,” Alfaro said this week from her school office. “'Kiké you’re going to be our Cupid for Valentine's Day. And we’re going to collect a lot of money because you're going to interview girls.' He was very handsome, and had the baseball body, so you can imagine. And I won't forget the line of girls waiting to be interviewed by Kiké. Just two or three questions, and they pay $25 or $30 for a photo. I don’t remember how much but they raised a lot of money.”
They had the prom that year.
Kiké as CupidAmerican Military Academy
And that’s just how Alfaro remembers the student who attended her school from elementary through high school: Always up for anything. A laugh. Playing guitar in the school hallways. Donning a bathing suit or tuxedo during school fashion shows. Throwing on the Bisons high school mascot costume and rallying fellow students for cheers. Dancing and singing on bus rides to baseball games.
Goofy antics inside the dugouts. Sound familiar?
Nothing these days surprises those who know Kiké Hernandez best: be it the way he plays baseball or the manner in which he conducts himself around the game.
Kiké’s postseason heroics this fall for the Red Sox do not surprise Alfaro, either. Heading into Game 3 of the ALCS, he’s 16-for-32 with four doubles and five home runs. He has the most hits in a four-game span (13) in postseason history and a walkoff, ALDS-series-clinching sac fly.
Kiké’s antics don’t surprise Alfaro, either: the face he made after catching a swirling flyball in Game 1 of the ALCS. The mouth-wide-open and smile after a flat-out, insane diving catch in the same game. The arms up in the air for the shopping-cart, post-home run rides in the Red Sox dugouts.
It’s something that’s never changed about Kiké: he just has fun, especially on and around the baseball diamond.
“He’s always been very fun,” Alfaro said. “He’s always trying to be that cheerleader and just have fun. That’s part of him. Those are his values, and in my opinion that's the most important quality of Kiké. He’s always looking to have fun and be happy with what he’s doing.”
Case in point:
It was much of the same for Kiké in the Hernandez household growing up. Kiké, now 30, has two younger sisters – Monica, 26, and Loren, 17, the latter who’s a senior at Kiké’s alma mater and is spreading the love for the Red Sox all around the school:
He was always making jokes and always having fun,” Loren said. “What you see on the screen, that’s him. He's just that type of guy.”
Loren didn’t get to spend an incredible amount of time at home with Kiké. She was about 5 years old when her older brother started his professional baseball career right out of high school; he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.
It was baseball, baseball, baseball for Kiké from that point on – all the way to Boston this season with a chance to carry his team to its fifth World Series appearance this century.
Perhaps the only time Kiké didn’t bounce around in the Hernandez household and elsewhere? Mornings. Even Christmas morning.
“I remember when I was kid,” Loren recalled, “I would tell him, ‘Wake up. Wake up. Santa just got here!’ And he would just want to sleep. He’s very sleepy mornings.”
It’s hard work being Senor Octubre, after all. Or Senor Cupid.
Dom Nicastro is a freelance sports journalist in the Boston area. Email him at nicastrod@yahoo.com
