2014 Dodgers In Review: OF Roger Bernadina

PA AVG OBP SLG wRC+ HR WAR
MiLB (ABQ) 74 .286 .392 .333 98 0 n/a
MLB (LA) 9 .286 .444 .714 227 1 0.2

What happened in 2014: Surprising mid-season minor league addition became surprise September recall with one big surprising moment.

Roger Bernadina had only nine plate appearances for the Dodgers after he was unexpectedly added to the roster on Sept. 6. Every single one came as a pinch-hitter or after being added as a defensive replacement. You don’t care about eight of them. You probably don’t care about nine of them, but let’s say for a moment that I can prove you wrong.

In the final game of the season, with Juan Uribe managing, a 10-5 win over the Rockies that ended with Alex Guerrero in left, Joc Pederson in center, and Bernadina in right, Bernadina replaced Yasiel Puig in the top of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, he faced Rob Scahill with Darwin Barney and Drew Butera on base, and absolutely destroyed a ball into the right field seats.

No, really. Per Hit Tracker Online, it was the fastest (by “speed off bat”) non-Hanley home run by any Dodger this season. I mean, just look at this list:

Date Hitter Pitcher Ballpark Speed
6/8/2014 Ramirez, Hanley De La Rosa, Jorge Coors Field 117.6
5/11/2014 Ramirez, Hanley Romo, Sergio Dodger Stadium 114.3
5/18/2014 Ramirez, Hanley Collmenter, Josh Chase Field 114.1
9/28/2014 Bernadina, Roger Scahill, Rob Dodger Stadium 113.2
5/3/2014 Puig, Yasiel Turner, Jacob Marlins Park 111.6
5/17/2014 Puig, Yasiel Anderson, Chase Chase Field 110.9

What in the world is a guy like Bernadina, who has 28 home runs in nearly 1,500 plate appearances spread over seven seasons, doing on a list with Ramirez and Puig? Existing, I suppose, in our memories, which he wouldn’t have done if not for that homer. I already barely remember he was here. Maybe he wasn’t. I bet Rob Scahill remembers, though.

2015 status: Bernadina elected to become a free agent on October 14.

About Mike Petriello

Mike writes about lots of baseball in lots of places, and right now that place is MLB.com.