Javier Herrera (6-28-24)

The Dodgers bat boy talks about going viral by saving Shohei Ohtani. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Well, I am with the biggestsuperstar on the Dodgers right now. No,
not Freddie Freeman or show Heyo Tani, not even Gavin Lux. I
am with the bat boy and alsothe most famous clubhouse attendant in Major League
Baseball, the one and only JavierHerrera, the man that saved show Heyotani's
life in Chicago. Thanks a lotfor the time. I know you're not

(00:23):
comfortable with the attention, but we'rehappy to have you here on Dodgers Radio.
All right, on, Dave,Thanks thanks for having me. Dude,
how has your life changed since thatlast game in Chicago? Not much,
to be honest, I mean it'snot to me. It's not a
big deal. It's you know,he's none of the game. And then
let's say we so we're here inSan Francisco. Is gonna play? All
right? So the dugout at guaranteedRate Field, very dangerous angle there,

(00:47):
so you had to be on yourtoes. Can you take us through what
you saw and what Otani told youafter you saved his life? So,
I mean it's pretty close by.It's what twenty feet maybe twenty five feet
from home plate to the dugout.So I had to keep my eyes wide
open, be be aware of anything. So I think the first the first

(01:07):
game, Crochet was pitching. Hewas doing hard, and he stood behind
me saying like, oh, Idon't want to He didn't say anything,
but I knew he didn't want toget hit. But I did tell him
like, don't worry, I'll protectyou. I got your back. And
then Game three in Chicago, Icaught that line drive and the night when
I caught it, he turned around. I turned around and gave him knuckles
and I told him I told you, I got you. And then he

(01:29):
was happy about that. Man,it was so smooth too. You didn't
make a big deal about it.You caught it and you handed it to
the authenticator. Yeah. Yeah,I mean it was a foul ball.
I mean, the game's still goingand nothing really, no one got hurt.
That was the best part. Idid my job, all right.
So after that, we saw eachother after the game. By the time
we saw each other, things kindof got went viral. How many texts

(01:52):
did you get from around the leaguefrom former Dodgers current Dodgers about how it
went viral. I got a goodamount of texts from family friends, even
people that I don't even know,to be honest, but they're not saving
in my contexts. But David probablydid reach out DP J T. Turner,
Justin Turner reached out. Catboy reachedout, you know, just saying

(02:13):
good hands, like you know,saying that. I say I saved show
his life. But I think heprobably you know, I think he probably
would have avoided a little bit.But you know I did my thing,
Yeah you did. Javier Herrera isour guest. He is the bat Boy
clubhouse attendant that protected show he Otani'sface from being smashed in by a key.
K Hernandez spou Ball. Did KEIk realize what happened when he came

(02:37):
back to the dugout, I don'tthink so. I don't think anyone realized
what happened. I didn't know whatI mean. I just caught the ball,
that's it. But until after thefact I saw that video, it
was like, oh man, maybeI think I did say it was for
something like that. So everybody's askingnow, I don't know if it's a
joke or if they're being serious thatOtani owes you a Porsche feels like Otani

(02:58):
owes everybody a Porsche has there beenany talk of a thank you. Oh
no, yeah, he did saythank you right away after I caught the
ball. He said, thank you, give him knuckles. That was fine.
That's fine enough for me. Ifhe's gonna give me a porch out.
I mean I bladly accept it.Don't get me wrong. But you
know it's it's he's everyone's safe.No one got hurt. That's the best
part. All in the day's work, right, right, that's right.

(03:21):
Can you give us some background onhow you have those great monos, because
if I'm standing in front of Otani, uh, the Dodger season is over,
basically, But how do you havethose type of hands and quick like
reactions. It's just it's a gift. Really. You know, did you
play baseball? Oh? Yeah,I played baseball. I was five years
old, so I mean, yeah, I kept my own the ball,

(03:43):
that's it. I mean, theball's gonna hit me also, so I
had to protect it. Yeah,protect myself first. But yeah, I
mean I caught that ball. Isaw it. I just knew. I
just knew I was gonna catch it. What's the highest level of baseball you
played? Oh, high school?High school baseball, that's it. And
what positions or oh you gotta havegood hands at shortstop, that's what makes
sense. All right, Well,how is the hand feeling right now?

(04:05):
Oh, hand's great. I'm readyto catch more. Really yeah, no,
man, ishert you're not going onthe il No, not at all.
All right, no, no,no, thanks a lot for stopping
by. Appreciate it. And uh, man, I'm happy for you.
You're a great guy. Appreciate thatyou deserve all the attention and celebration that
you're getting. All right, thanks, they appreciate that. All right.

(04:26):
There he is the man, JavierHerrera. He saved Sho hal Tani's beautiful
face, and some people say,save the Dodger season.