Pitcher, Detroit
Tigers
AKA Guillermo
Hernandez
Age: 29
1st
season with Tigers
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’3” Weight: 180
Prior to 1984:
A native of
Aguada, Puerto Rico, Hernandez played first base and in the outfield in high
school. Playing semi-pro baseball the summer after he graduated from high
school, he tried pitching with excellent results and was signed by the
Philadelphia Phillies in 1973 for a $25,000 bonus. Initially assigned to
Spartanburg of the Class A Western Carolinas League in 1974, Hernandez was
utilized as a starting pitcher and went 11-11 with a 2.75 ERA and 179
strikeouts over 190 innings pitched. In addition, he led the league with 26
starts and 13 complete games. Advancing to Reading of the Class AA Eastern
League in 1975, Hernandez was 8-2 with a 2.97 ERA when promoted to the Toledo
Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League, where he started 13 games and
compiled a 6-4 record with a 3.26 ERA. Still in Class AAA in 1976 with Oklahoma
City of the American Association, his record was 8-9 with a disappointing 4.53
ERA. Exposed to the Rule 5 draft following the season, he was selected by the
Chicago Cubs. Hernandez joined Chicago’s bullpen in 1977 and appeared in 67
games, accumulating 110 innings and 78 strikeouts while recording four saves, a
3.03 ERA, and an 8-7 record. The record was 8-2 in 1978, although his ERA
climbed to 3.77 in 59.2 innings pitched over 54 games. He struck out 38 batters
and recorded three saves. Hernandez endured a disappointing 1979 season in
which he appeared in 51 games and produced a 5.01 ERA and 4-4 record. In 1980
he appeared in 53 games, starting seven of them, and was 1-9 with a 4.40 ERA. He
was back in Class AAA in 1981 with Iowa of the American Association, where he
started 8 of his 18 games and went 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA and two saves. Recalled
to the Cubs following the resolution of the players’ strike, he was back
exclusively in the bullpen and appeared in 12 games, two in which he recorded
saves, and compiled a 3.95 ERA. Hernandez followed up with a solid year in 1982
in which he appeared in 75 games and compiled a 4-6 record with a 3.00 ERA and
54 strikeouts over 75 innings with 10 saves. To a standard repertoire that
included a “sneaky” fastball, curve, slider, and changeup, in 1983 he added a
screwball and cut fastball which added significantly to his effectiveness. In
May, he was traded to the Phillies where he performed well as a lefthanded
setup man for closer Al Holland and produced an 8-4 tally in 63 games for the
Phillies with a 3.29 ERA and 7 saves. Philadelphia went on to win the NL pennant
and Hernandez continued to perform well in the postseason which concluded with
defeat in the World Series. The Tigers, looking for a lefthander to complement
their star right-handed reliever, Aurelio Lopez, swung a late March deal with
the Phillies prior to the 1984 season in order to obtain Hernandez.
1984 Season Summary
Appeared in 80
games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Pitching
Games – 80 [1]
Games Started –
0
Complete Games
– 0
Wins – 9
Losses – 3
PCT - .750
[Non-qualifying]
Saves – 32 [3]
Shutouts – 0
Innings Pitched
– 140.1
Hits – 96
Runs – 30
Earned Runs – 30
Home Runs – 6
Bases on Balls
– 36
Strikeouts – 112
ERA – 1.92
[Non-qualifying]
Hit Batters – 4
Balks – 0
Wild Pitches – 2
League-leading games pitched were +8 ahead of runner-up Dan Quisenberry
Midseason
Snapshot: 4-0, ERA - 2.15, G – 40, SV – 16, SO - 69 in 75.1 IP
---
Most
strikeouts, game – 6 (in 3.2 IP) vs. California 8/16
Fielding
Chances – 19
Put Outs – 5
Assists – 14
Errors – 0
DP – 1
Pct. - 1.000
Postseason
Pitching: (ALCS vs. Detroit – 3 G, World Series vs. San Diego – 3 G)
G – 6,GS – 0,CG
– 0, Record – 0-0 PCT – .000, SV – 3, ShO – 0, IP – 9.1, H – 7, R – 2, ER – 2,
HR – 1 BB – 1, SO – 3, ERA – 1.93, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
AL Cy Young
Award:BBWAA
AL Pitcher of
the Year: Sporting News
All-Star
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Willie
Hernandez, Det. 339 pts. – 16 of 28 first place votes, 78% share
Kent Hrbek, Min.:
247 pts. – 5 first place votes, 63% share
Dan
Quisenberry, KC: 235 pts. – 5 first place votes, 60% share
Eddie Murray,
Balt.: 197 pts. – 2 first place votes, 50% share
Don Mattingly,
NYY: 113 pts. – 29% share
AL Cy Young
voting (Top 5):
Willie Hernandez,
Det.: 88 pts. – 12 of 28 first place votes, 63% share
Dan
Quisenberry, KC: 71 pts. – 9 first place votes, 51% share
Bert Blyleven,
Clev.: 45 pts. – 4 first place votes, 32% share
Mike Boddicker,
Balt.: 41 pts. – 3 first place votes, 29% share
Dan Petry, Det.:
3 pts. – 2% share
---
Tigers went 104-58
to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 15 games over the Toronto Blue
Jays. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.49), saves (51), fewest hits
allowed (1358), and fewest runs allowed (643). The Tigers got off to a 35-5
start and coasted to the AL East title. The bullpen tandem of Hernandez and
Aurelio Lopez was a combined 19-4 with 46 saves while Hernandez blew only one
save opportunity all year. Won ALCS over the Kansas City Royals, 3 games to 0. Won
World Series over the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1.
Aftermath of ‘84:
Hernandez
followed up with another solid season in 1985 and endured booing from the
disappointed home fans because the Tigers failed to repeat and the All-Star
lefthanded closer wasn’t as dominant as in ’84, going 8-10 with a 2.70 ERA and
31 saves while appearing in 74 games. The situation worsened in 1986 as
Hernandez appeared in 64 games and compiled an 8-7 record with 24 saves and a
3.55 ERA. He blew 5 of 13 save opportunities in 1987 as two stints on the
disabled list caused him to lose his closer role and he finished at 3-4 with a
3.67 ERA and 8 saves. In 1988, Hernandez, preferring to be called by his given
first name of Guillermo rather than Willie, bounced back with a season in which
he appeared in 63 games and went 6-5 with 10 saves and a 3.06 ERA. Suffering
from a sore elbow in 1989 he was 2-2 in 32 games with a 5.74 ERA and 15 saves.
Released by the Tigers in the offseason, Hernandez never returned to the major
leagues although there were several abortive attempts at a comeback over the
next several years. Overall for his major league career, Hernandez appeared in
744 games and posted a 70-63 record with 147 saves, a 3.38 ERA, and 788
strikeouts over 1044.2 innings pitched. In his six years with Detroit he appeared
in 358 games and was 36-31 with a 2.98 ERA and 384 strikeouts. He relieved in
ten postseason games and registered three saves with no decisions and 7
strikeouts over 13.2 innings. He was a three-time All-Star.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of
the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to
present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its
inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major
league.
