LOS ANGELES — Here's something you should know about Brent Honeywell Jr., the versatile Los Angeles Dodgers figure with the perm, turtleneck and screwball throwing at the helm of a bullpen group calling themselves the “Dawgs” this October: Be whether he pays tribute to his name or not, he makes his own honey. At least his father, Brent Sr., has been with him for about 10 years. Honeywell itself has added a beekeeping outfit to its repertoire and a bottle of honey is now in manager Dave Roberts' office.

It's hardly the picture anyone has painted promising a clear run to the World Series. But that's just Honeywell.

“I think I just have different strokes for different people,” Honeywell said. “That’s exactly it.”

On his honey-making exploits: “I don’t do that. Bees do. … I’ve gone out and wrestled with them before.”

On his decision to wear a season-long turtleneck with blue cotton reaching halfway down his neck, even in stifling triple-digit summer temperatures: “Nobody does that. If I had a turtleneck last year, I would have worn one, but they didn't have one (at the San Diego Padres). I came here and asked them and they had one, so I started wearing it.”

When his aunt gave him a perm as the Dodgers traveled to Denver to end the regular season, Honeywell would have a sort of hybrid perm hawk on the brightest stage: “Playoff perm.” Give the boys something else to talk about other than the ball. Let them have a little fun, let them have a good time with it. Plus I think it looks good.”

So good that when the group gathered for a photo ahead of that World Series, his bullpen mates insisted that Honeywell go hatless.

The Bullpen Dawgs. pic.twitter.com/aGoSNTHZNb

– Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 24, 2024

Honeywell's eccentricities are endless and his qualities are endlessly endearing. That endeared him to a clubhouse that drunkenly praised him after he qualified for the World Series.

“He is the most unique person I have ever met,” Alex Vesia said.

“He’s just special,” Daniel Hudson said. “He’s one of one.”

“I’m a knee jerker,” Honeywell said. “I like to move a few knees every now and then. … I like it when people … don't necessarily walk on eggshells, but are always ready for something. It's like a little anticipation with the question, “What is Honey going to do today?”

It is a novelty, although not a novelty. Teammates say he's an example of what this Dodgers bullpen is all about, having kept opposing lineups in check this October.

“We wouldn’t be here without him,” Hudson said. “He was definitely a godsend for us.”

“He’s the glue,” said Michael Kopech, “that holds people together down there.”

“He just never stopped,” Evan Phillips said.

That extended into this postseason. Honeywell wasn't on the club's first roster this October, and while he worked to stay ready, he hosted live batting practice at Petco Park for a number of struggling Dodgers hitters, namely Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor and Andy Pages. Except Honeywell threw every pitch down the middle.

“I can get people out, I’ve proven that,” Honeywell said. “But I want my guys to put runs on the board.”

So he tried to get them right. When Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman asked Honeywell what he did, the right-hander joked.

“I’m still working on my command,” Honeywell said. “I try to throw it right in the middle.”

“That,” Muncy said, “was probably the best answer you could have given.”

He was added to the National League Championship Series roster because the Dodgers simply needed someone to give them length. If the Dodgers were going to go deeper in October, it would be by keeping their best backups fresh. When they trailed the Mets in Game 2, Honeywell pitched three innings in his postseason debut. And when the Dodgers fell behind in Game 5 and faced a bullpen game in Game 6, it was Honeywell who had a direct message to Roberts: Leave him in the game so he can relieve everyone else.

“Save the dawn,” Honeywell would later say.

“That was the most organic thing he ever said,” Vesia said. “Simply organic. That’s him, in every sense of the word.”

The Dodgers had enough weapons to win Game 6 and the pennant. In the post-game hysteria, which included a now-viral interview, it was Honeywell who took his share of the credit.

“When you have a guy like that, you really want to make sure he gets what he deserves,” Muncy said. “Of course I might have been a little drunk at that moment, but hey, we had fun. We went to the World Series. But I wanted to make sure the guy got what he deserved.”

At 29 years old, Honeywell is a far cry from its days as a prized front-runner. Since his debut in 2021, he has pitched for six organizations, none particularly often or for as long. He arrived on a waiver claim in July because the Dodgers needed someone to help during a hellish stretch before the All-Star break. Honeywell had pitched twice in a week before the Pittsburgh Pirates designated him for assignment, so he took the bus from the team's rest stop in Milwaukee to Chicago. He received a call from Mark Prior, the Dodgers' pitching coach, telling him that the Dodgers had just picked him up. They needed bodies, so Honeywell would start.

“How many innings can you throw?” Asked before. Honeywell, a starter before injuries destroyed his arm, gave him three scoreless games against the Detroit Tigers. Rather than respond to waivers again, Honeywell stuck with it. He closed games. He gave the Dodgers length. When the Dodgers also designated him for assignment, he opted to go to the minors in Oklahoma City rather than electing free agency. In 34 1/3 innings for the Dodgers this season, he had a 2.62 ERA.

“I came across a team that wanted me to pitch for them and they let me pitch,” Honeywell said. “You didn’t know what to do. There were no concerns about letting me pitch. … I can go. I can do this and I think this will work. All you have to do is let me try it and use it.

“Winning is more important to me than anything else in my life. And if I feel like you're not keeping up or doing something that's going to hurt me when I'm trying to win a baseball game, I'm going to ask questions, and if you don't like it, then I don't care. I know one thing is most important: This team wants to win, and they’ve told me that from day one.”

The Dodgers encouraged Honeywell to help transform his performance into something more repeatable. Injuries had left Honeywell with none of the speed he had in the mid-90s, and he still had enough control to run through a lineup multiple times. And instead of shelving the pitch that made him famous as a talent – the screwball – as a novelty, they embraced it. Honeywell inherited the rare pitch from his father, who inherited it from his cousin, Mike Marshall – who won a Cy Young Award with the Dodgers as a reliever, a little less than a decade before the late Fernando Valenzuela put the pitch back on the map.

Brent Honeywell, Beautiful 80 mph screwball. 😍 pic.twitter.com/u4VJ1EARd9

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 1, 2024

Honeywell acknowledged the emotions involved in potentially taking this place to the highest stage, especially after Valenzuela died Tuesday and in the lead-up to the first World Series between the Dodgers and New York Yankees since Valenzuela's rookie season in 1981. Honeywell met Valenzuela a year ago in San Diego and destroyed the art of the pitch, which is almost extinct. Each iteration is different: Honeywell's is firmer, and he adjusts it each day depending on what kind of movement he wants to create.

It put him on the postseason roster and the emotional center of a star-studded squad. It got him here after years of arm injuries that still require him to wear an ice pack from shoulder to wrist every night after pitching.

“This whole gig over the last few years has been eye-opening for me,” Honeywell said. “(My) younger self would be proud because it wasn’t easy.”

(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)