Willie Hernández
Encyclopedia
Guillermo "Willie" Hernández Villanueva (born November 14, 1954 in Aguada, Puerto Rico
Aguada, Puerto Rico
Aguada is a municipality of Puerto Rico, located in the western coastal valley region bordering the Atlantic Ocean, west of Rincón, Aguadilla and Moca; and north of Anasco. It is part of the Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area...

) is a former relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 (1977–1983), Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 (1983), and the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 (1984–1989). He threw and batted left-handed.

Career

Hernández signed with the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 as an amateur free agent in 1973. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 from the Phillies in the 1976 Rule V Draft. In his first two years in the majors (1977 and 1978), Hernandez went 16-9 with a 3.03 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in '77 and a 3.77 ERA in '78. The Cubs gave him a try as a starter in 1980, but he went 1-9 that year in 7 starts and 53 games pitched.

From 1979-1982, Hernández was 9-19 and gave up 128 earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...

s in that time. After being traded to the Phillies for Bill Johnson
Bill Johnson (pitcher)
William Charles Johnson , is a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1983 to 1984. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1980 and was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Dick Ruthven to the Chicago Cubs for Willie Hernandez in...

 and Dick Ruthven
Dick Ruthven
Richard David Ruthven is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with a 14-year career from 1973 to 1986. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs all of the National League. During his career, Ruthven had a record of 123-127, an ERA of 4.14, and 1145 career strikeouts...

, he went 8-4 with 3.29 ERA and 7 saves. The Phillies made the World Series
1983 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandJohn Denver, whose Thank God I'm a Country Boy was played at the seventh-inning stretch of each Orioles home game, sang the National Anthem prior to this game....

 that year, losing to the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 in 5 games.

Prior to the 1984 season, Hernández was traded to the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 with Dave Bergman
Dave Bergman
David Bruce Bergman was a Major League Baseball first baseman, designated hitter, and outfielder.Born in Evanston, Illinois, Bergman is an alumnus of Maine South High School and Illinois State University...

 for Glenn Wilson
Glenn Wilson
Glenn Wilson may refer to:* Glenn Wilson , former Major League Baseball outfielder* Glenn Wilson , specialist in personality...

 and John Wockenfuss
John Wockenfuss
Johnny Bilton Wockenfuss is a former utility player in Major League Baseball who had a twelve year career from 1974 to 1985.-Playing career:...

. He had a 9-3 record, 32 saves and a 1.92 ERA in 140 innings pitched
Innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...

, while recording 112 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s. In the entire season, Hernandez gave up only 6 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s, 30 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

, 36 base on balls
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

, and 96 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

. His 32 saves came in 33 opportunities.

Hernández won the 1984 American League Cy Young Award, beating out Dan Quisenberry
Dan Quisenberry
Dan Raymond "Quiz" Quisenberry was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Kansas City Royals...

. He also became one of the few relievers to ever win the Most Valuable Player Award (the others are Jim Konstanty
Jim Konstanty
Casimir James "Jim" Konstanty was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player of 1950. He played for the Cincinnati Reds , Boston Braves , Philadelphia Phillies , New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals...

, Rollie Fingers
Rollie Fingers
Roland Glen Fingers is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During his 18-year baseball career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers . He became only the second reliever to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992...

, and Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...

), edging out Kent Hrbek
Kent Hrbek
Frequently injured , Hrbek retired after the players strike in 1994, citing his nagging injury problems and desire to spend more time with his wife and daughter at their home in Bloomington, MN...

. The Tigers finished 104-58 that season, and went on to sweep the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

 in the American League Championship Series
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...

 and defeat the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

 in the 1984 World Series
1984 World Series
The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, with the Tigers winning the series four games to one....

, four games to one. Hernandez pitched five innings in the series, had two saves, and gave up only one run.

His overall postseason stats include a 2-2 record and a 1.32 ERA in 10 games, 13 innings pitched. He walked 2, and struck out 7.

Hernández never had those numbers again, but was a solid reliever for the Tigers in his final years - when he became known by his given name Guillermo Hernández. In 1988, his second-to-last year, he went 6-5 with a 3.06 ERA and 10 saves in 67 innings pitched. Hernández's last MLB game was on August 18, 1989, before being released by Detroit. He attempted comebacks with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 organization in 1991 and Columbus Clippers
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....

 of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 organization in 1995.

See also


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK