Roberto Hernández (relief Pitcher)
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Roberto Manuel Hernández Rodríguez (born November 11, 1964) is a Puerto Rican former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...
relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
. His best
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(MLB) seasons came with the
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and
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, in the 1990s. In all, Hernández played for 10 different big league teams, over 17 seasons.


Early life

Roberto Manuel Hernández was born November 11, 1964, in Puerto Rico. His father moved his family to the Dominican Republic where his father was originally from. At age 2, his family moved again to New York City. Hernández attended the Chelsea Vocational School in Manhattan where he played baseball for three years. During his junior year of high school, he and his brother were forced to drop out due to the fact that is mother was sick and his father was laid off from his job. He assisted his family for a year, then was offered a scholarship at the New Hampton School, a private school in New Hampshire where he repeated his junior year and completed his senior year of high school while continuing to play baseball.


Amateur career

In the fall of 1984, Hernández attended the
University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...
to play baseball for the Huskies and was named the starting catcher in the spring of 1985. Following the 1985 college season, he played in a summer league in Virginia. He was the only catcher on the team but he desired to pitch. The coach told him he would get the opportunity to pitch if they found another catcher. In his first start, he pitched against a team from Madison and struck out 14 batters. He then pitched against
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, East Carolina and finally against Elon but wouldn’t pitch again and caught mostly every game the rest of the summer. Hernández hoped to return to UConn in the fall of 1985 and pitch; However, he had difficulty contacting the coach during the summer. Hernández then made the decision to transfer. He hoped to attend the
University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...
but he could not get a letter of consent. Had he signed, he would have been forced to sit out a season, which would have hurt his chances of being drafted the following year. Larry Carr, the pitching coach at Coastal Carolina, had seen Hernández pitch and called the pitching coach at USC Aiken (USCA) and told him to offer Hernández a scholarship. Hernández enrolled at USCA without having visited in the hope that he could pitch there during the 1986 season and prepare for the draft. He hurt his arm pitching in the fall and would undergo surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. Once he recovered from surgery, he pitched well in the spring. Every time he began warming up for a game he would notice that 10-15 scouts would be watching him with a radar gun. Hernández’s success in the 1986 season helped put USCA on the map for professional scouts. The school would later refurbish and rename their baseball field after him.


Professional career

Hernández was selected by the
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as the 16th pick in the first round of the 1986 amateur draft. He was traded to the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
in 1989. In 1991, while pitching for the
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of the
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, Hernández experienced numbness in his pitching hand, later determined to be caused by blood clots. He was rushed into emergency surgery to have veins transplanted from his inner thigh to his forearm. The surgery was successful and he went on to make his major league debut as a
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against the
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on September 2 of that year. Hernández had a long and largely successful career as a
relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
in the major leagues. In 1993, he was instrumental in the White Sox' drive for the
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West Division pennant, going 2–1 with 21 saves in the second half of the season. He made four appearances in the
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that year and pitched four scoreless
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s. During the season, the White Sox traded Hernández,
Wilson Álvarez Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher. During a thirteen-year baseball career, he pitched for the Texas Rangers ...
, and
Danny Darwin Danny Wayne Darwin (born October 25, 1955), known as "the Bonham Bullet", is an American professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox ...
, to the
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for six prospects (
Keith Foulke Keith Charles Foulke ( ; born October 19, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas, Foulke attended Galveston College and Lewis–Clark State College. Between 1997 an ...
,
Bob Howry Bobby Dean Howry (born August 4, 1973) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Early life Howry attended, and played baseball at Deer Valley High School in Arizona, then he attended McNeese State University and was drafted b ...
,
Lorenzo Barceló Lorenzo Barceló (born August 10, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Chicago White Sox from –. Career MLB career San Francisco Giants Barceló was originally signed by the San Francisco Giants as an am ...
, Mike Caruso,
Ken Vining Kenneth Edward Vining (born December 5, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Vining played for the Chicago White Sox during the 2001 season. In 8 career games, he posted an 0–0 record and an earned run average (ERA) ...
, and Brian Manning in what became known as the White Flag Trade. He appeared in all three games of the
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Division Series against the
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. After the season, he signed as a free agent with the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...
. In 1999, he earned his career-high of 43 saves which was a Devil Rays team record until 2010. Despite his 43 saves, the team only won 69 games overall. His performance level declined after being traded to the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
prior to the season. He went on to sign as a free agent with the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
in 2003, the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
in 2004, and the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
in 2005. After 2002, he moved from being a closer to being a setup man, in which role he generally flourished. He signed a one-year contract with the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
for the 2006 season. On July 31, 2006, Hernández was reacquired by the Mets along with pitcher
Óliver Pérez Óliver Pérez Martínez (born August 15, 1981) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamond ...
for outfielder
Xavier Nady Xavier Clifford Nady VI (; born November 14, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. Nady played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Ari ...
. On December 2, 2006, Hernández signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
for the season with a $3.7 million club option for 2008. Coming out of
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, he and
Rafael Betancourt Rafael Jose Betancourt (born April 29, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Colorado Rockies, as well as in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) ...
were the Indians' primary right-handed eighth-inning relievers. But Hernández pitched poorly over the first three months of the season (6.23 ERA in 28 games) and eventually lost the confidence of manager
Eric Wedge Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968) is an American former baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and manager. As a player, Wedge attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne and played on the school's state champion baseball team in ...
. He was
designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...
June 20 and
waived A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. A waiver is often written, such as a disclaimer that has been accepted, but it may also be spoken between two or more parties. When the right to hold a p ...
for the purposes of giving him his unconditional release on June 28. Hernández was signed to a minor league contract by the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
on July 7, 2007, and, after pitching in one game for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, was recalled to the Dodgers on July 18. On August 16, 2007, Hernández appeared in his 1,000th game against the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
. He became the 11th pitcher in major league baseball history to appear in 1,000 career games. In addition to his MLB career, Hernández played in the Puerto Rican Winter League from 1987 to 1996 with the Mayaguez Indians.


Personal life

Hernández is married with four children and resides in
Gulfport, Florida Gulfport is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, bordering St. Petersburg, South Pasadena, and Boca Ciega Bay. The population of Gulfport was 11,783 at the 2020 census. Gulfport is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater ...
. His son, Roberto Jr., attended USCA as a member of the baseball team, playing at the stadium named for his father.


See also

* List of players from Puerto Rico in MLB * Career Leaders in Games Finished * Major League Baseball titles leaders


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Roberto 1964 births Living people American League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players Birmingham Barons players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players UConn Huskies baseball players Gulf Coast White Sox players Kansas City Royals players Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Midland Angels players New York Mets players Omaha Royals players Palm Springs Angels players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Quad Cities Angels players Richmond Braves players Salem Angels players San Francisco Giants players South Bend White Sox players Baseball players from San Juan, Puerto Rico Tampa Bay Devil Rays players USC Aiken Pacers baseball players USC Aiken Pacers athletes University of South Carolina Aiken alumni Vancouver Canadians players New Hampton School alumni