El Duque Remembered

The Texas Rangers have released right hander Orlando Hernandez. Most of you probably remember El Duque because of his exaggerated high leg kick or from his days as a Yankee and his legendary playoff success.

El Duque had pitched effectively in 11 innings of relief with Triple-A Oklahoma City, but he didn't show enough velocity or command for Texas to think he was big league ready. I don’t know if he’ll ever get another MLB opportunity, but I’m certain he will land on his feet. He certainly has the resolve.

Hernandez has certainly had an interesting life to date. When Hernández signed with the Yankees in 1998, he claimed to have been born in 1969. In 1999, The Smoking Gun published his divorce decree from Cuba, which had surfaced in connection with a child support case brought by his ex-wife; the decree revealed him to have been born in 1965. There have even been reports of Hernandez being born sometime between 1957 and 1961. The official site of Major League Baseball still gives his year of birth as 1969, while his pages on ESPN and Baseball-Reference.com list it as 1965.

Hernández played for Industriales of Havana in the Cuban National Series, helping the team win that title in 1992 and 1996. He also represented Havana in Selective Series, on teams including Ciudad Habana and Habaneros. He was 126-47 with 3.05 ERA over his ten-year career in the National Series. His career winning percentage in National and Selective Series, .728, is the league record.

Hernández was also a fixture on the Cuba national baseball team, and was part of the gold-winning Olympic team at Barcelona in 1992.

In September 1995, Hernández's half-brother Liván Hernández defected from Cuba. Then in July 1996, Orlando Hernández was detained by Cuban state security and interrogated about his relationship to an American sports agent. Three months later, he was banned from Cuban baseball. On Christmas day 1997, Hernández defected from Cuba, departing on a boat from the small city of Caibarién. The U.S. Coast Guard interdicted Hernandez, his companion Noris Bosch, another baseball player named Alberto Hernandez (no relation) and five others in Bahamian waters, delivering the entire party to Bahamian authorities in Freeport, who confined them in a detention center for illegal immigrants pending eventual repatriation to Cuba, the usual outcome of such cases. However, after lobbying by sports agent Mark Cubas and representatives of the Cuban-American National Foundation (CANF), then-Attorney General Janet Reno eventually offered both Hernandezes and Bosch a special status known as "humanitarian parole" that would allow them to enter the U.S., based on (1) what were judged to be realistic fears of persecution should they be returned to Cuba and (2) their status as exceptionally talented athletes, a class of person that — like exceptionally talented people in other professions — can qualify for special admission to the U.S. under State Department rules. However, Hernandez declined this offer, eventually accepting an offer of asylum in Costa Rica. If he had immediately become a U.S. resident, he would have been subject to baseball's regular draft and could only have negotiated terms with the team that picked him. As a non-U.S. resident, however, he was able to negotiate as a free agent. After two months in Costa Rica, Hernandez entered the U.S. on a visa arranged by the New York Yankees, with whom he had negotiated a four-year, $6.6 million contract.

Hernández enjoyed his best year in 1999, with a 17-9 record and setting career-highs in strikeouts (157) and innings pitched (214.1) as a Yankee. After the regular season, he was selected the Most Valuable Player in the American League Championship Series.

In 2005, while pitching for the Chicago White Sox, Hernández delivered a memorable performance in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the 2005 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. Brought on in relief with the bases loaded and no outs, Hernández induced two fly ball outs before striking out Johnny Damon without surrendering a run. The White Sox would go on to win the game, sweeping the Red Sox out of the playoffs. After the 2005 season, he was traded along with relief pitcher Luis Vizcaíno and the highly touted prospect outfielder Chris Young to the Arizona Diamondbacks for former teammate Javier Vázquez. On May 24, 2006, he was dealt to the New York Mets in exchange for relief pitcher Jorge Julio.

Hernández's debut season in the National League allowed him to attain some offensive feats for the first time in his career. On July 29, 2006, Hernandez drove in the first two RBIs of his career. When asked when was the last time he remembered he drove in a run, Orlando said, "In Cuba". Then, on August 20, 2006, at Shea Stadium, Hernández had the first stolen base of his career (3rd).

Hernández pitched well after his trade to the Mets, going 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts as the Mets won the National League East. His stellar pitching in September, going 2-2 with a 2.01 ERA, earned him the privilege of being named the Mets Game 1 Starter in the 2006 National League Division Series. However, while running sprints in the outfield the day before the playoffs started, Hernández tore a muscle in his calf and had to be scratched from the postseason roster. He was re-signed by the Mets on November 14, 2006. Injuries limited Hernandez to just 24 starts during the 2007 season, but he pitched successfully when healthy, posting a 9-5 record, a 3.72 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 147 innings. Hernandez underwent foot surgery following the 2007 season and was not ready to begin the 2008 season with the Mets. He underwent a lengthy post-surgery rehabilitation program in Florida with the intent of joining the Mets in August 2008. A toe injury that required season-ending surgery in late August 2008 ended Hernandez' season without having thrown a pitch for the Mets. A free agent following the 2008 season, Hernandez' future as an active player is in doubt, especially considering his history of mounting injuries and his age.

On June 11, 2009, Hernandez signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He was assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma. The Rangers informed him that they would not call him up, because they do not believe he has the velocity or command to pitch in the majors, setting up his release today.

Perhaps we will see him again. I hope so. He was one of the great stories of the game.– Josh Bolan

Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.