1954
Born November 14, 1954
Aguada, , P.R.
Willie Hernández Marquee
Detroit acquired him from Philadelphia before the 1984 season, and he appeared in more games than any other pitcher in the American League. He went 9-3 with a 1.92 earned run average across 140 innings and saved 32. The Tigers won 104 games and the World Series.
He did not lead the league in saves. Dan Quisenberry had 44 and Bill Caudill 36, and the writers gave Hernández both the Cy Young Award and Most Valuable Player anyway. Four relief pitchers have been named Most Valuable Player: Jim Konstanty in 1950, Rollie Fingers in 1981, Hernández, and Dennis Eckersley in 1992. The last three took the Cy Young in the same year.
He had spent seven seasons in the Chicago Cubs bullpen and half of 1983 with the Phillies. He saved 31 games in 1985 and 24 in 1986, and finished with 147 saves, 70 wins and 788 strikeouts in 744 appearances, eleven of which he started. He was born in Aguada, Puerto Rico, and died in November 2023.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 1984, 1985, 1986 |
| Cy Young Award | 1 | 1984 |
| Most Valuable Player | 1 | 1984 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 1 | 1984 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1984 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1984 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | CHC | 67 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .063 |
| 1978 | CHC | 55 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1979 | CHC | 52 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .250 |
| 1980 | CHC | 53 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .211 |
| 1981 | CHC | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1982 | CHC | 75 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .000 |
| 1983 | CHC/PHI | 74 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | .400 |
| 1984 | DET | 80 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1985 | DET | 74 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1986 | DET | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1987 | DET | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1988 | DET | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1989 | DET | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 747 | 63 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 2 | .206 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | CHC | 8 | 7 | 67 | 1 | 4 | 110.0 | 94 | 37 | 28 | 78 | 3.03 |
| 1978 | CHC | 8 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 3 | 59.2 | 57 | 25 | 35 | 38 | 3.77 |
| 1979 | CHC | 4 | 4 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 79.0 | 85 | 44 | 39 | 53 | 5.01 |
| 1980 | CHC | 1 | 9 | 53 | 7 | 0 | 108.1 | 115 | 53 | 45 | 75 | 4.40 |
| 1981 | CHC | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 13.2 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 3.95 |
| 1982 | CHC | 4 | 6 | 75 | 0 | 10 | 75.0 | 74 | 25 | 24 | 54 | 3.00 |
| 1983 | CHC/PHI | 9 | 4 | 74 | 1 | 8 | 115.1 | 109 | 42 | 32 | 93 | 3.28 |
| 1984 | DET | 9 | 3 | 80 | 0 | 32 | 140.1 | 96 | 30 | 36 | 112 | 1.92 |
| 1985 | DET | 8 | 10 | 74 | 0 | 31 | 106.2 | 82 | 32 | 14 | 76 | 2.70 |
| 1986 | DET | 8 | 7 | 64 | 0 | 24 | 88.2 | 87 | 35 | 21 | 77 | 3.55 |
| 1987 | DET | 3 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 8 | 49.0 | 53 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 3.67 |
| 1988 | DET | 6 | 5 | 63 | 0 | 10 | 67.2 | 50 | 23 | 31 | 59 | 3.06 |
| 1989 | DET | 2 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 15 | 31.1 | 36 | 20 | 16 | 30 | 5.74 |
| Career | — | 70 | 63 | 744 | 11 | 147 | 1044.2 | 952 | 392 | 349 | 788 | 3.38 |
On this day & linked events
2023
Died November 20, 2023
1977
Major-league debut: Willie Hernández
Willie Hernández made a major-league debut on April 9, 1977.
1989
Final major-league game: Willie Hernández
Willie Hernández played a final major-league game on August 18, 1989.
Image: Oklahoma City 89ers, public domain