PHOENIX – You don’t have to see Shohei Ohtani to know where he is on the Dodgers’ complex. You know where he is because of the fans stampeding towards him. You know where he is by their screams when they see him.
Kyle Tucker, on the other hand, travels in silence.
On any other team, an incoming four-time All-Star outfielder with a $240 million contract would be the center of attention. On the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers, he’s just another player.
That isn’t a problem for the 29-year-old Tucker, who referenced his low-key demeanor at his introductory news conference last month.
“I try to go out and play my game regardless of the situation,” Tucker said.
Tucker received a warm applause earlier this week when he stepped into the batter’s box for his first Cactus League plate appearance The World Series heroes in front of and behind him received much louder ovations: Miguel Rojas and Will Smith.
A couple of days before that, Tucker walked to one of the team’s practice fields for a morning workout with Smith and Freddie Freeman by his side. Most of the fans lined up along a waist-high fence nearby shouted Freeman’s name. Some shouted Smith’s. Tucker was practically unnoticed.
Tucker was the last of the Dodgers’ key players to address the media this spring training, waiting to do so until after he played three innings in a win over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
“For me and the people I talked to about how he goes about it, there’s nothing negative about it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I love guys who just come to work and value playing and love playing and competing. He just wants to win. He’s not a self-promoter. He’s not going to give you guys a lot of great sound bites.”
The Dodgers have Ohtani for that. Or Freeman. Or Mookie Betts. Or Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Or Blake Snell. Or … you get the point.
Rojas was in the same batting practice group as Tucker one recent morning and said he found him to be “pretty chill.”
“He’s been quiet, easing his way in,” Rojas said. “He likes to stay in his own lane. He’s not really vocal.”
Rojas continued, “I feel like he’s a veteran. He knows what he needs to work on.”
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The Dodgers have incorporated a wide range of personalities into their team over the years, and Rojas believed Tucker would be embraced because of his approach to the game.
“He’s a guy we expect to be out there every single day,” Rojas said. “That’s something that you really care about. You really care about the player that wants to play, that wants to be out there every single day.”
Now on his third team, Tucker said he’s been comfortable in the Dodgers’ camp, explaining that he’s found common ground with his new teammates.
“This group kind of makes it easy,” Tucker said. “I mean, these guys are true professionals and take care of business.”
Tucker marveled at the caliber of pitching on the team, some of which he faced in live batting practice.
“It’s a little tough,” he said. “Glad they’re on our side.”
He recalled what it was like trying to hit against Tyler Glasnow.
“He was throwing 98, but it felt like 200,” he said.
Asked what he wanted to accomplish in camp, Tucker replied, “Well, last year, I got one hit in spring, so hopefully I get more than that. That’s the goal.”
He was joking, of course.
So there is some personality behind the mask. And as Tucker becomes more comfortable, perhaps that side of him will emerge — or not.
The choice is entirely his. This franchise already has several faces.
