Roberto Hernández (baseball player)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Image:Ph 115832.jpg |
|
|---|---|
| New York Mets — No. 39 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 2, 1991 for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through August 1, 2006) |
|
| Wins-Losses | 64-68 |
| Earned Run Average | 3.32 |
| Strikeouts | 899 |
| Teams | |
Roberto Manuel Hernández Rodríguez (born November 11, 1964 in the Santurce district of San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Hernández grew up in New York City and attended Chelsea Vocational School where he played baseball for three years. He also attended The New Hampton School in New Hampshire and the University of South Carolina at Aiken, which named their refurbished baseball field after him in 1993.
Hernández was selected by the California Angels as the 16th pick in the first round of the 1986 amateur draft. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1989. In 1991, while pitching for the Vancouver Canadians of the Pacific Coast League, 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 starting pitcher against the Kansas City Royals on September 2 of that year.
Hernández has had a long and largely successful career as a relief pitcher in the major leagues. In 1993 he was instrumental in the White Sox' drive for the American League West Division pennant, going 2-1 with 21 saves in the second half of the season. He made four appearances in the American League Championship Series that year and pitched four scoreless innings.
In 1997, Hernández was traded to the San Francisco Giants as part of a nine-player deal and appeared in all three games of the National League Division Series against the Florida Marlins. After the season, he signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In 1999, he earned his career-high of 43 saves which is also a Devil Rays team record. His 43 saves were for a team that only won 69 games overall.
His performance level declined after being traded to the Kansas City Royals prior to the 2001 season. Since then, he has signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves in 2003, the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004 and the New York Mets in 2005. After 2002, he moved from being a closer to being a setup man, in which role he has generally flourished. He signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2006 season.
On July 31st, 2006, Hernández was reacquired by the New York Mets along with pitcher Oliver Perez for outfielder Xavier Nady.
Hernández is married with four children and resides in Gulfport, Florida.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- MLB Profile
- Roberto Hernandez at ESPN.com
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
Categories: 1964 births | Living people | 1996 American League All-Stars | 1999 American League All-Stars | Atlanta Braves players | Chicago White Sox players | Kansas City Royals players | Major league pitchers | New York Mets players | Philadelphia Phillies players | Puerto Rican baseball players | San Francisco Giants players | Tampa Bay Devil Rays players | Birmingham Barons players
