Orlando Hernandez

From SoSH

In 1998 the New York Yankees arranged a special work visa to allow Cuban pitcher Orlando Hernandez to play in the United States, signing him to a 4-year, $6.6 million contract. He later pitched for the Montreal Expos, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and most recently the New York Mets.

Contents 1 Major League Career 2 Delivery 3 Moment in the Sun 4 Disputed Age 5 Awards 6 Trivia 7 Transactions

Major League Career

Hernandez was an integral part of the Yankees pitching staff in the late 90's, helping the team win World Series titles from 1998-2000. He allowed four runs or less in 12 of his 13 postseason starts with the Yankees, and his career postseason stats include a 12-3 record with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.94 K/BB ratio.

He's won four World Series titles in his career, three with the Yankees and one with the Chicago White Sox in 2005.

In 1999 he won a career-high 17 games and pitched 214.3 innings, also a career high.

Delivery

Hernandez is recognizable for his trademark delivery which uses a high leg kick. This has the effect of hiding the ball from the hitters' eye until its release. He also throws from multiple arm angles to keep hitters off balance.

Moment in the Sun

Hernandez was stellar in the 1999 playoffs, going 4-0 and allowing just four earned runs in 30 innings pitched. This included two wins against the Boston Red Sox in the 1999 ALCS in which he allowed three earned runs on six walks and 12 hits to go along with 13 strikeouts in 15 innings.

Disputed Age

In 1999, The Smoking Gun published Hernandez's divorce decree from Cuba which claimed that he was born in 1965. It is still not clear whether he was born in 1965 or 1969.

Awards

1999 ALCS MVP

Trivia

• Half-brother of pitcher Livan Hernandez.
• Career winning percentage of .728 (126-47) in Cuba's National and Selective Series is a league record.
• Was banned from Cuban baseball in 1996 after alleged connections with an American sports agent.
• Defected to U.S. in 1997 and was held in custody. Henandez was then offered "humanitarian parole" status by Attorney General Janet Reno, which would have allowed him to apply for special admission to the U.S. He declined the offer and took refuge in Costa Rica for two months in order to avoid having to enter baseball's amateur draft.

Transactions

• March 23, 1998: Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent.
• January 15, 2003: Traded by the New York Yankees to the Chicago White Sox for Antonio Osuna and Delvis Lantigua (minors).
• January 15, 2003: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Rocky Biddle, Jeff Liefer, and cash to the Montreal Expos for Bartolo Colon and Jorge Nunez (minors).
• December 21, 2003: Granted Free Agency.
• March 12, 2004: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
• November 2, 2004: Granted Free Agency.
• January 3, 2005: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
• December 20, 2005: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with Luis Vizcaino and Chris Young to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Javier Vazquez.
• May 24, 2006: Traded by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the New York Mets for Jorge Julio.
• October 31, 2006: Granted Free Agency.
• November 14, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Mets.