Highlighted Year: Roberto Hernandez, 1999

Pitcher, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Age: 34

2^nd season with Devil Rays

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 220 

Prior to 1999:

A native of Puerto Rico, Hernandez moved to New York City with his family at a young age. Initially a catcher in his youth, he started high school in New York until receiving a scholarship to New Hampton School in New Hampshire where he continued as a catcher on the baseball team. He was still utilized behind the plate after moving on to the University of Connecticut. The tall and lanky young backstop displayed an impressive throwing arm but had a slow release when firing the ball to second base. Playing summer ball in Virginia’s Valley League in 1985, Hernandez was utilized steadily as a pitcher for the first time. He transferred to the University of South Carolina at Aiken and performed well in 1986, compiling a 10-2 record (including the NAIA tournament) with 97 strikeouts over 94 innings, and as a Designated Hitter when not pitching he batted .315 with a team-leading 18 home runs. Chosen by the California Angels in the first round of the 1986 amateur draft, he signed and was assigned to Salem of the short-season Class A Northwest League. Starting 10 games, he went 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 55 innings. Dealing with injuries in 1987 with Quad Cities of the Class A Midwest League, he was limited to seven games and produced a 2-3 tally and 6.86 ERA. Starting off poorly with Midland of the Class AA Texas League in 1988, Hernandez was sent back to Quad Cities where he started 24 games and compiled a 9-10 record with a 3.17 ERA and 114 strikeouts over 164.2 innings. Back in the Texas League with Midland in 1989, Hernandez got off to a poor start and was again demoted to Class A, this time with Palm Springs of the California League. In August the Angels traded him to the Chicago White Sox who reassigned him to South Bend of the Midwest League where he finished the season with an overall record of 4-12 with a 5.50 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 131 innings. Regarded as a project by the White Sox, Hernandez split the 1990 season with the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League and Vancouver of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, posting a combined record of 11-10 in 28 starts with a 3.31 ERA, 4 complete games, and 111 strikeouts over 187.1 innings. Returning to Vancouver in 1991, after seven starts and feeling right hand numbness, he underwent surgery for blood clots in June and was surprisingly back in action by July. Having developed a slider in place of his “big and sloppy” curve to go along with a fastball, his performance improved significantly as he made four starts back with Birmingham following a rehab stint in the Gulf Coast League and went 2-1 with a 1.99 ERA. Called up to the White Sox in September, in his first start he retired the first 16 batters he faced and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before giving up a hit. Two more starts went badly and Hernandez finished the season in the bullpen having produced a 1-0 tally for the White Sox with a 7.80 ERA and 6 strikeouts along with 7 walks over 15 innings pitched. Following a season of winter ball in Puerto Rico, Hernandez returned to the bullpen for the White Sox in the spring of 1992. Sent down to Vancouver, he made nine relief appearances and compiled a 3-3 record with 2 saves and a 2.61 ERA before being called back to Chicago in June. Joining a talented bullpen that included two other pitchers who reached double digits in saves, Hernandez saved 12 games himself and emerged down the stretch to end the season as the closer. He appeared in 43 games for the White Sox and in addition to the 12 saves had a 7-3 tally and 68 strikeouts over 71 innings. The White Sox topped the AL West in 1993 and Hernandez solidified his role as closer out of the bullpen by registering 38 saves among his 70 appearances and had a 2.29 ERA and 71 strikeouts over 78.2 innings. In his first taste of postseason action, he had a save and gave up no runs in the team’s six-game ALCS loss to Toronto. During the strike-shortened 1994 season, Hernandez suffered through a June slump before finishing with 14 saves and a 4-4 tally in 45 appearances. His ERA jumped to 4.91 and he recorded 50 strikeouts over 47.2 innings. He endured another rough June in 1995 on his way to 32 saves, a 3-7 record in 60 appearances, and 84 strikeouts over 59.2 innings. Hernandez got off to a strong start in 1996. Following an opening day blown save, he produced 20 saves and a win over 27 appearances on his way to 38 saves and a 6-5 tally over 72 games pitched. He led the league in games finished for the third straight year and had a 1.91 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 84.2 innings. He was an All-Star for the first time and tied for sixth in AL Cy Young voting. With Hernandez due to become a free agent following the 1997 season, the White Sox dealt him to the San Francisco Giants along with starters Wilson Alvarez and Danny Darwin at the end of July. With 27 saves and a 2.44 ERA at the time of the trade, he became a setup man for closer Rod Beck down the stretch with the Giants and finished the season with a combined 74 appearances that resulted in a 10-3 record, 31 saves, a 2.45 ERA, 50 games finished, and 82 strikeouts over 80.2 innings. The Giants won the NL West title and lost the NLDS to the Florida Marlins in a three-game sweep with Hernandez a disappointment in his three appearances. As a free agent in the offseason he signed with the expansion Devil Rays for four years and $22.5 million, which seemed to be something of an extravagance for a first-year club. With the 63-99 club in 1998 he appeared in 67 games and had a 2-6 tally with 26 saves, 58 games finished, a 4.04 ERA, and 55 strikeouts over 71.1 innings.  

1999 Season Summary

Appeared in 72 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 72 [7, tied with Mike Jackson & Paul Shuey]

Games Started – 0

Games Finished – 66 [1]

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 2

Losses – 3

PCT - .400

Saves – 43 [2, tied with John Wetteland]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 73.1

Hits – 68

Runs – 27

Earned Runs – 25

Home Runs – 1

Bases on Balls – 33

Strikeouts – 69

ERA – 3.07 [Non-qualifying]

Hit Batters – 4

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 3

League-leading games finished were +1 ahead of runner-up Mike Jackson

Midseason Snapshot: G – 44, 1-3, ERA - 3.72, SV – 26, SO - 44 in 46 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 3 (in 1 IP) vs. KC Royals 5/5, (in 2 IP) vs. Philadelphia 7/20

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fielding

Chances – 15

Put Outs – 4

Assists – 10

Errors – 1

DP – 1

Pct. - .933

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

10^th in AL Cy Young voting, tied with Keith Foulke, ChiWS. (1 point – 1% share)

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The Devil Rays went 69-93 to finish fifth (last) in the AL Eastern Division, 29 games behind the division-winning New York Yankees. The pitching staff led the league in walks (695) and hit batters (79). Off to a respectable 22-20 start by mid-May, the injury-plagued Devil Rays hit a 2-16 stretch that dropped them into fourth place in the AL East. They fell into the cellar for good on September 1. Attendance at Tropicana Field dropped to 1,562,827.

Aftermath of 1999:

Hernandez remained solid in 2000 as he appeared in 68 games and had a 4-7 record with 32 saves, 58 games finished, a 3.19 ERA, and 61 strikeouts over 73.1 innings. In the offseason he was traded to the Kansas City Royals as part of a three-team deal that also included the Oakland Athletics. Hernandez’s 2001 season with the Royals was disappointing as he posted 28 saves and a 5-6 tally in 63 appearances along with a 4.12 ERA, 55 games finished, a 4.12 ERA, and 46 strikeouts over 67.2 innings for the last-place club. The Royals were 62-100 in 2002 and Hernandez appeared in 53 games and compiled 26 saves, a 1-3 record, 42 games finished, a 4.33 ERA, and 39 strikeouts over 52 innings. A free agent in the offseason, he signed with the Atlanta Braves. The perennial division-winning club topped the NL East once again and Hernandez, no longer a closer, appeared in 66 games and posted a 5-3 tally with no saves, a 4.35 ERA, and 45 strikeouts over 60 innings. In the losing NLDS matchup against the Chicago Cubs, he pitched one scoreless inning. A free agent again following his one-year deal with the Braves, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004 and appeared in 63 games and went 3-5 with no saves, a 4.76 ERA, and 44 strikeouts over 56.2 innings. Hernandez moved on to his third straight NL East club in 2005, joining the New York Mets and in 67 appearances produced an 8-6 record with 4 saves, a 2.58 ERA, and 61 strikeouts over 69.2 innings. Moving on to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006, he was traded back to the Mets in July and went on to pitch in a combined 68 games with a 0-3 tally, 2 saves, a 3.11 ERA, and 48 strikeouts over 63.2 innings. The Mets reached the postseason and Hernandez made three appearances in the NLCS loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and provided 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. At age 42 he split 2007 between the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers to cap his career. For his major league career, Hernandez pitched in 1010 games, all but three in relief, and compiled a 67-71 record and 326 saves with a 3.45 ERA, 667 games finished, and 945 strikeouts over 1071.1 innings. With Tampa Bay he made 207 appearances with an 8-16 record, 101 saves, a 3.43 ERA, 182 games finished, and 185 strikeouts over 218 innings. He pitched in 11 postseason games and was 0-1 with one save, a 3.12 ERA, and 2 strikeouts over 8.2 innings. Hernandez was a two-time All-Star and received Cy Young Award votes twice as well. Heavily involved in community outreach programs during his playing career, he continued to be active in youth mentorship programs in New York following retirement from baseball. The new baseball stadium at  the University of South Carolina at Aiken was named for him in 2003.  

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.