1964
Born November 11, 1964
Santurce, , P.R.
Roberto Hernández Marquee
b. November 11, 1964 · Chicago White Sox 1991–1997, San Francisco Giants 1997, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 1998–2000, Kansas City Royals 2001–2002, Atlanta Braves 2003, Philadelphia Phillies 2004, New York Mets 2005–2006, Pittsburgh Pirates 2006, Cleveland Indians 2007, Los Angeles Dodgers 2007
He saved 326 games — 20th on the all-time list — with a 3.45 earned run average across 1,071 innings and seventeen seasons. Ten different clubs employed him, and only Chicago and Tampa Bay had him for more than two years.
He was Puerto Rican, drafted out of the University of South Carolina at Aiken, and nearly lost his career before it started: circulation trouble in his pitching arm required surgery in 1991 and cost him most of two seasons in the minor leagues.
He was the White Sox closer for six years and the first closer Tampa Bay had, saving 101 games in three seasons for an expansion club that lost 90 or more in each. Two All-Star selections. The writers gave him no votes at all in 2013, which for the twentieth-most saves anyone has recorded is a hard verdict.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1996, 1999 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | CHW | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | CHW | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | CHW | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | CHW | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | CHW | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | CHW | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | CHW/SFG | 74 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| 1998 | TBD | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | TBD | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | TBD | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2001 | KCR | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2002 | KCR | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2003 | ATL | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | PHI | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2005 | NYM | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | NYM/PIT | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | CLE/LAD | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 1010 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | CHW | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 15.0 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 7.80 |
| 1992 | CHW | 7 | 3 | 43 | 0 | 12 | 71.0 | 45 | 13 | 20 | 68 | 1.65 |
| 1993 | CHW | 3 | 4 | 70 | 0 | 38 | 78.2 | 66 | 20 | 20 | 71 | 2.29 |
| 1994 | CHW | 4 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 14 | 47.2 | 44 | 26 | 19 | 50 | 4.91 |
| 1995 | CHW | 3 | 7 | 60 | 0 | 32 | 59.2 | 63 | 26 | 28 | 84 | 3.92 |
| 1996 | CHW | 6 | 5 | 72 | 0 | 38 | 84.2 | 65 | 18 | 38 | 85 | 1.91 |
| 1997 | CHW/SFG | 10 | 3 | 74 | 0 | 31 | 80.2 | 67 | 22 | 38 | 82 | 2.45 |
| 1998 | TBD | 2 | 6 | 67 | 0 | 26 | 71.1 | 55 | 32 | 41 | 55 | 4.04 |
| 1999 | TBD | 2 | 3 | 72 | 0 | 43 | 73.1 | 68 | 25 | 33 | 69 | 3.07 |
| 2000 | TBD | 4 | 7 | 68 | 0 | 32 | 73.1 | 76 | 26 | 23 | 61 | 3.19 |
| 2001 | KCR | 5 | 6 | 63 | 0 | 28 | 67.2 | 69 | 31 | 26 | 46 | 4.12 |
| 2002 | KCR | 1 | 3 | 53 | 0 | 26 | 52.0 | 62 | 25 | 12 | 39 | 4.33 |
| 2003 | ATL | 5 | 3 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 60.0 | 61 | 29 | 43 | 45 | 4.35 |
| 2004 | PHI | 3 | 5 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 56.2 | 66 | 30 | 29 | 44 | 4.76 |
| 2005 | NYM | 8 | 6 | 67 | 0 | 4 | 69.2 | 57 | 20 | 28 | 61 | 2.58 |
| 2006 | NYM/PIT | 0 | 3 | 68 | 0 | 2 | 63.2 | 61 | 22 | 32 | 48 | 3.11 |
| 2007 | CLE/LAD | 3 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 46.1 | 59 | 33 | 25 | 31 | 6.41 |
| Career | — | 67 | 71 | 1010 | 3 | 326 | 1071.1 | 1002 | 411 | 462 | 945 | 3.45 |
On this day & linked events
1991
Major-league debut: Roberto Hernández
Roberto Hernández made a major-league debut on September 2, 1991.
2007
Final major-league game: Roberto Hernández
Roberto Hernández played a final major-league game on September 25, 2007.
Image: Jeffrey Hayes, CC BY 2.0