Anderson Hernández Mejia (born October 30, 1982) is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

as well as for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

He was signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at age 18 by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in . In the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

s, Hernández showed poor patience and high

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s typical of a teenager and did not rise past single-A until . In his first season, he batted .264/.303/.389 with 34

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in just 216

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s. However, he progressed slowly. In , playing in High-A ball, he showed poor hitting skills, batting just .259/.310/.339. The next season was even worse. Hernandez struggled to hit above the

Mendoza line The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a sub-.200 batting average, the supposed minimum threshold for competence at the Major League level. It derives from light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who failed to reach .200 five times in his nine b ...

, (.229/.278/.295) and stole just 15 bases. But the next season started off well for him. After batting .295 with 11 RBI in about 100 AB, he was called up to Double-A

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

where he batted .274 with 5

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 29 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. In January 2005, Hernández was traded to the

for

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Vance Wilson Vance Allen Wilson (born March 17, 1973) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played all or parts of eight seasons in MLB. L ...

New York Mets

In January 2005, Hernández was traded to the

for

. With the Mets out of

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

contention in and Hernández hitting over .300 in both Double-A and Triple-A, he was called up to the majors in mid-September but went 0-for-14 before finally getting his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, off

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

pitcher

Aaron Cook Aaron Cook may refer to: *Aaron Cook (baseball) (born 1979), Major League Baseball pitcher * Aaron Cook (footballer) (born 1979), Welsh footballer * Aaron Cook (politician), Nauruan politician *Aaron Cook (taekwondo) Aaron Arthur Cook (born 2 ...

, in the last game of the season, going 1–4. Due to the knee injury of

Kazuo Matsui is a Japanese retired professional baseball player who played as a shortstop and is the current manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions. He is a switch-hitter. Matsui signed with the New York Mets on December 17, 2003, becoming the first Japanese i ...

, Hernández was the starting second baseman for the Mets to start the season, but he too was soon injured and placed on the 15-day DL. He returned later in the season and hit his first Major League home run on September 19, 2006, off

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

pitcher

Scott Olsen Scott Matthew Olsen (born January 12, 1984) is an American former pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals between 2005 and 2010. Early life Olsen was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended ...

. He is widely known to Mets fans for pinch-running for

Paul LoDuca Paul Anthony Lo Duca (born April 12, 1972) is an American retired professional baseball player and television personality. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), Florida Marlins (2004–, ), New York Met ...

in the bottom of the ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

in Game 7 of the

2006 NLCS The 2006 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on October 12 and ended on October 19; it was scheduled to begin on October 11, but was postponed a day because of inclement weather ...

against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, representing the winning run with two out, but

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fra ...

struck out to end the game. In 2007, he made many appearances as a

pinch-runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

or a late inning defensive replacement, as he only collected three at-bats and went 1–3. On August 20, , Hernández was dealt to the

as a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Luis Ayala.

Washington Nationals

On August 20, , Hernández was dealt to the

as a

for

Luis Ayala. He was the starter at second for the Nationals. On August 6, 2009, Hernández was traded back to the

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

for minor league infielder Greg Veloz.

Return to the Mets

Hernández was traded back to the

on August 6, 2009, for minor league infielder Greg Veloz. On March 17, 2010, Hernández was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Indians

On March 17, 2010, Hernández was claimed off waivers by the

. He was assigned to Triple-A Columbus on April 8. On June 8, 2010, the Indians purchased Hernández's contract and placed him on the active roster. Hernández had the opportunity to compete for the starting second baseman position, but lost to

Jayson Nix Jayson Truitt Edward Nix (born August 26, 1982) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Ya ...

; he was subsequently used in a utility infielder role. On July 18, 2010, Hernández was designated for assignment to make room on the active roster for pitcher

Jeanmar Gómez Jeanmar Alejandro Gómez (born February 10, 1988) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and Tex ...

. Hernández was claimed off waivers by the

on July 21, 2010.Astros add infielder Hernandez, reliever Figueroa
/ref>

Houston Astros

Hernández was claimed off waivers by the

on July 21, 2010. He was added to the 25-man roster on July 22, 2010. Hernández became a free agent after the 2010 season. He re-signed with the Astros in November 2010.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Hernández signed a minor league contract with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on December 21, 2011. In November 2012, Hernández re-signed with the Pirates.

Dominican Republic

Hernández currently has played in his native country, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, for

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

. He won the Rookie of the Year in the regular season and also the MVP during the finals. He and shortstop

Erick Aybar Erick Johan Aybar (born January 14, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. ...

are called "los menores" (Spanish for "the kids") and were known as one of the best middle infields in the Dominican Republic.

Chunichi Dragons

On December 12, 2013, Hernandez was unveiled by the

in the

NPB or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

as a new signing ahead of their 2014 campaign. On 29 October, 2016, it was confirmed that Hernandez would be released from the Dragons along with

Ricardo Nanita Ricardo Michael Nanita (born June 12, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and for the Dominican Republic national baseball team. Amateur career Na ...

Juan Jaime Juan Jose Jaime Hernandez (born August 2, 1987) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Career Wa ...

Drew Naylor Drew Roy Naylor (born 31 May 1986) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher. Naylor pitched for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2015 to 2016. He played in the minor league system of the Philadelphia Philli ...

and

Leyson Septimo Leyshon (also: Layson, Laysham, Leyson) is an Anglicized form of the Welsh language surname Lleision. The name originates from Glamorganshire, Wales and dates from the 6th Century Welsh/ Brythonic language. Notable people with the name include: ...

Vaqueros Unión Laguna

On April 10, 2017, Hernandez signed with the

Vaqueros Unión Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

On February 9, 2018, Hernandez was traded to the

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (''Owls of the Two Laredos''), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (''Owls of Nuevo Laredo''), are a Minor League Baseball team based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and Laredo, Texas in the Mexican Leagu ...

of the

. He was released on May 1, 2018.

Olmecas de Tabasco

On July 3, 2018, Hernandez signed with the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Leag ...

of the

. He became a free agent following the 2018 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Anderson 1982 births Living people Binghamton Mets players Chunichi Dragons players Cleveland Indians players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Erie SeaWolves players Estrellas Orientales players Columbus Clippers players Gulf Coast Tigers players Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players Lakeland Tigers players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican League baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball third basemen New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Olmecas de Tabasco players Piratas de Campeche players Round Rock Express players St. Lucie Mets players Syracuse Chiefs players Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos players Tigres del Licey players Vaqueros Unión Laguna players Washington Nationals players