Ramón Hernández

For other uses, see Ramón Hernández (disambiguation). Ramón Hernández
Baltimore Orioles — No. 55 CatcherBorn: May 20, 1976(1976-05-20) (age 32)
Caracas, VenezuelaBats: Right Throws: Right Major League Baseball debut June 29, 1999 for the Oakland Athletics Selected MLB statistics
(through 2007) Batting average .263 Home runs 122 Runs batted in 537 Teams

Highlights and awards

All-Star selection (2003)

Ramón José Hernández [/ɾa.ˈmon ɛɾ.ˈnan.dɛθ/] (born May 20, 1976 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball catcher and right-handed batter who plays for the Baltimore Orioles. Previously, he played with the Oakland Athletics (1999-2003) and San Diego Padres (2004-2005).

1 Career
2 Highlights
3 See also
4 External links

Career

Hernández is a career .262 hitter with 90 home runs, 384 RBI, and 322 runs scored in 805 games throughout his seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres.

1999-2003

Hernández made his debut with Oakland in June 1999 as a backup catcher for A.J. Hinch. His steady progress enabled the Athletics to trade Hinch to the Kansas City Royals a year later.

With experience, Hernández became known as a catcher who could solidly hit, mentor young pitchers and had steady defense. He earned praise for his defense and game-calling skills with a powerful pitching staff that included Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson.

In 2003, Hernández broke out with his best season, hitting .273 with 21 home runs and 78 RBI and made his first All-Star Game. His most memorable moment as an Athletic came in Game 1 of the 2003 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox. With the bases loaded, two outs, and two strikes in the bottom of the 12th inning, Hernandez bunted down the third base line, which scored Eric Chavez to win the game. After the season, Oakland traded him to the Padres, mainly for financial reasons. At the time of the deal, Hernández had caught at least 135 games each of the last four years.

2004-2005

In both 2004 and 2005, Hernandez battled injuries. In 2004, he missed four weeks mid-season after injuring his left knee in a collision at the plate. Upon his return, he batted .281 with 11 home runs with 38 RBI in the second part. He finished the 2004 season with a .276 batting average, 18 home runs, and 63 RBI.

In 2005, he suffered a wrist injury on June 17 while diving into first base during a game against the Twins. His jammed wrist forced him to the disabled list, causing him to miss 18 games. Hernández returned to the lineup on July 7, but the condition worsened and he decided to have surgery to repair the torn cartilage. The surgery forced Hernández to the DL for the third time in two seasons, and he missed the entire month of August. He rejoined the team in time for the September stretch run, and was pivotal in the Padres' run to the National League West championship. Hernández hit .359 in September with five home runs, and drove in 20 runs in just 22 games. He came up with several clutch hits, including two dramatic game-winning home runs: a three-run walk-off shot against Washington in the 12th inning on September 17, and a grand slam against division rival San Francisco just 10 days later. He finished the season with a .290 average and 12 home runs, and became one of baseball's more coveted players in the winter's free agent market.

2006

Before the 2006 season, Hernández signed a $27.5 million, four-year contract to play for the Baltimore Orioles. The contract includes a team option for the 2010 season as well. In his introductory press conference, Hernández spoke excitedly about working with a young pitching staff, hitting in Camden Yards and helping the team become a contender. He also expressed optimism about spending the next four years with Miguel Tejada as a teammate (Tejada was traded to the Astros before the 2008 season). Hernández and Tejada played in Oakland for almost five years, and they are godfathers to each other's children.

Highlights

All-Star (2003)
Set Oakland record in games caught (142, 2000; one more than Ray Fosse, 1973)
Ranked fifth in home runs and RBI among 21 major league catchers (15 and 60 in 2001, behind Mike Piazza, Jorge Posada, Javy López and Charles Johnson.)