José Antonio Hernández Figueroa (born July 14, 1969) is a Puerto Rican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. Hernández 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) as an infielder for the Texas Rangers,

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 ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 ...

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 ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

from 1991 to 2006. He was an MLB All-Star in 2002. Since 2019, Hernández has been a coach for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

of MLB.

Career

Playing career

In a 15-season career, Hernández had a .252 batting average with 159

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 and 563 RBI in 1408

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. He was a 2002 All-Star Game reserve, and a member of the 1999

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Champion

. Primarily a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, Hernández played every position except

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. His most productive season came in with Milwaukee, when he posted career highs in home runs (25), RBI (78), doubles (26) and games (152). Jose Hernandez and Luis Lopez (cropped)

In his All-Star year, , Hernández hit 24 home runs with 73 RBI and a career-high .288 average; however, he also struck out 188 times, one shy of the MLB record. Then-Brewers manager

Jerry Royster Jeron Kennis Royster (born October 18, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball player and coach. He was a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees. He was ...

kept him out of the lineup in four of the last five games of the season so he would not break the dubious record. He led the majors in highest strikeout percentage (32.3%). Hernández spent the entire 2004 season with the

in a utility role, hitting .289 (61-211) with 12 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 29 RBI in 95 games for the National League West champions. Hernández recorded 26 extra base hits and a .540

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

in just 211

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 batt ...

s. Only

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (; born August 3, 1976) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman. Glaus played in Major League Baseball with the Anaheim Angels (–), Arizona Diamondbacks (), Toronto Blue Jays (–), St. Lou ...

(207 AB, 18 HR) hit more home runs in the majors in 2004 among players with 215 or fewer at bats. Hernández signed on with the

for the to begin his second tenure with the team. He played in 84 games and hit .231 with six home runs and 31 runs batted. Before the season, Hernández signed a minor league contract with the Pirates that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, and an opportunity to compete for a spot on the team. After playing only 67 games for Pittsburgh, the Phillies purchased his contract from the Pirates on August 22, 2006. He became a free agent after the season. Hernández returned to the Pirates organization on January 3, . Unconditionally released on March 30, he signed with the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. In 99 games, he hit .242 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI. Hernández set a

Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

record with 20 home runs for Mayagüez during the - season.

Coaching career

Hernández has been a field coach in the

organization since 2010. Beginning with the

Gulf Coast League Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home ...

for one season, he was promoted to the Delmarva Shorebirds in 2011, the Frederick Keys in 2012 and the Norfolk Tides in 2013. He served as a field coach for the Norfolk Tides in 2018 for a sixth year. In January 2019, Hernández was promoted to the Major League staff in Baltimore with the title "Major League coach". On October 4, 2021, it was announced that Hernández would assume a different role on the Orioles' staff.

Personal life

Hernández is the cousin of former Major League Baseball infielder Luis Figueroa and the son-in-law of Orlando Gómez, a former Major League Baseball coach and scout and minor league catcher and manager who, like Hernández, worked in the Orioles organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Jose 1969 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles coaches Canton-Akron Indians players Charlotte Rangers players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Gastonia Rangers players Gulf Coast Rangers players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Leones de Yucatán players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Mexican League baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers players Minor league baseball coaches National League All-Stars Oklahoma City 89ers players Orlando Cubs players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Texas Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Sportspeople from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Baseball players from San Juan, Puerto Rico