Rogearvin Argelo "Roger" Bernadina (born June 12, 1984), nicknamed "The Shark," is a Dutch

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

an 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the Hotsand Macerata Angels of the Italian Baseball League (IBL). He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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 ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

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 ...

. He has also played in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the Kia Tigers and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the Lamigo Monkeys. He was a member of the Dutch national baseball team in international competitions including the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

(WBC).

Career

Washington Nationals

Bernadina was signed at age 17 by the then-

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2001. Bernadina was called up to the major leagues the first time on June 28, 2008 to replace the injured Lastings Milledge. His major league debut came the next day, and, batting leadoff, he hit a single to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

in his first major league

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

. Bernadina started 2009 in Triple-A, but he was called up on April 15. After appearing in two games as a defensive replacement, he started his first game of the season on April 18. In the eighth inning, he "made a spectacular catch against the wall" against the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

and fractured his right ankle, although he earned the nickname "The Shark." Bernadina was placed on the 15-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

and later transferred to the 60-day disabled list. His only action the rest of the season was playing in two games for the Gulf Coast League Nationals. After shuttling between Triple-A Syracuse and Washington several times in April 2010, Bernadina was recalled on April 28 and remained with the team the rest on the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, playing all three outfield positions. On May 12, Bernadina hit his first and second MLB

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s against 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 ...

. The second came in the ninth inning off closer Francisco Rodriguez, giving the Nationals the lead in a game they would ultimately win. He also made a remarkable leaping catch in right field that likely robbed Met

Jeff Francoeur Jeffrey Braden Francoeur (; born January 8, 1984), nicknamed "Frenchy", is an American former professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals ...

of a bases-clearing triple. Bernadina finished the season, which would be his career high with 134 games played, with a .246

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 11 home runs, and 16 stolen bases. Bernadina's playing time lessened in 2011, and he shifted to primarily playing in center field. He finished the season with a similar batting line, hitting .243 with 7 home runs and 17 stolen bases. 2012 was Bernadina’s best offensive season in MLB. He compiled a

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

of .291/.372/.405 and made several highlight defensive plays, including a game-ending catch against the left-center field fence at

Minute Maid Park Daikin Park (originally Enron Field and formerly Astros Field and Minute Maid Park) is a retractable roof stadium in Houston, Texas, United States. It opened in 2000 and is the home ballpark of the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). ...

on August 7. Bernadina made his only

MLB postseason The Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason is the annual playoff elimination tournament held to determine the champion of MLB in the United States and Canada. Since 2022, the postseason for each league— American and National—consists of tw ...

appearance in 2012, going 0–2 with two walks in four

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

appearances as the Nationals lost to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

. Bernadina's offensive production dropped off in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. On August 19, 2013, the Nationals released Bernadina to clear a roster spot for David DeJesus, who was acquired from the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Philadelphia Phillies

On August 21, 2013, Bernadina signed a major league contract with the

. In 27 appearances for Philadelphia, he batted .187/.256/.347 with two home runs, five RBI, and one stolen base. On October 16, Bernadina was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

. He elected free agency the following day.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 31, 2014, Bernadina signed a minor league contract with the

that included a spring training invitation. After making the opening day roster, 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 ...

on May 3 but was called back up to the Reds on May 5 after an injury to Jay Bruce. Bernadina was designated for assignment again on June 21. On June 27, Bernadina refused assignment to the Reds' minor league system and became a free agent. He hit .153 in 44 games for the Reds.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 7, 2014, Bernadina signed a minor league contract with the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

, where he hit .246 in 23 games. He was called up to the Dodgers on September 6, 2014. He was used primarily as a pinch runner for the Dodgers but also had seven pinch hit at-bats. In his final MLB game on September 28, he hit a single and a home run, his only home run of the season. Bernadina was left off the Dodgers' postseason roster. He elected free agency after the 2014 season.

Colorado Rockies

On December 24, 2014, Bernadina signed a minor-league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. He played the entire 2015 season with the Isotopes, now the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate. Bernadina led the team with 62 runs batted in, 20 stolen bases, 58 walks, and tied for the lead with 20 home runs and 62 runs while also being the team's oldest position player. He elected free agency on November 6.

New York Mets

On February 8, 2016, Bernadina signed a minor league contract with the

organization. In 114 games for the Triple–A Las Vegas 51s, he batted .292/.376/.465 with 10 home runs, 55 runs batted in, and 20 stolen bases. Bernadina elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Kia Tigers

On November 24, 2016, Bernadina signed with the Kia Tigers of the

. He had a .320 batting average, 27 home runs, 111 runs batted in, and 32 stolen bases in the 2017 season. He led the league in runs, was named a KBO All-Star, and earned a Golden Glove Award. He helped the Tigers win the Korean Series, hitting .529 with one home run five runs batted in during the postseason series. On December 1, 2017, Bernadina signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Tigers. In

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, he had .310 batting average, 20 home runs, and 70 runs batted in. He became a free agent after the 2018 season.

Lamigo Monkeys

On March 30, 2019, Bernadina signed with the Ishikawa Million Stars of the Baseball Challenge League. However, Bernadina left the Million Stars and signed with the Lamigo Monkeys of the

on April 19. He debuted with the team on May 20 and posted a .256/.365/.378

across 24 games before he was released by the team on June 30, 2019. He was hitless in his final 13 at bats in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On July 16, 2019, Bernadina signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He hit .336 with four home runs in 34 games with the team. He was released on February 6, 2020.

Quick Amersfoort

In August 2020, Bernadina signed with Quick Amersfoort in the Dutch Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He hit .286 in seven games in the regular season.

Curaçao Neptunus

Bernadina signed with Curaçao Neptunus in the Hoofdklasse for the 2021 season. In 150 games over three seasons with Neptunus, Bernadina hit .336 with 7 home runs, 110 runs batted in, and 24 stolen bases. On November 16, 2023, it was reported that Bernadina had left the club.

Hotsand Macerata Angels

On May 3, 2024, Bernadina signed with Hotsand Macerata Angels of the Italian Baseball League. In 22 games for the team, he hit .267/.416/.417 with two home runs and 12 RBI.

International career

Bernadina represented the

Netherlands national baseball team The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are the best-ranked team in the WBSC Europe, Europe, and WBSC World Rankings, ...

at the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike the tw ...

and

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

. He also played for the Dutch at several European Baseball Championships, Olympic qualifier tournaments, the 2019 WBSC Premier12, and Haarlem Baseball Week in 2022 and 2024.

References

External links

Roger Bernadina
at Baseball Almanac
Career statistics and player information
from

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...