Enzo Octavio Hernández (February 12, 1949 – January 13, 2013) was a Venezuelan

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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played from 1971 through 1978 for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Hernández was born in Valle de Guanape,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Listed at 5' 8", 155 lb., he batted and threw right handed. A typical "good field-no hit" shortstop, Hernández was initially signed by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in 1967, and later played in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

' minor league system. After being traded along with Tom Phoebus, Fred Beene and Al Severinsen from the Orioles for Pat Dobson and Tom Dukes on December 1, 1970, he became the Padres regular shortstop for most of the period from 1971 to 1976, stealing 20 or more bases four times. He also collected 595 assists In 1971, for the 5th highest total ever for a shortstop. On August 1, 1971, Hernández took part in one of eight recorded triple plays by the San Diego Padres franchise. In an eight-season career, Hernández was a .224

hitter In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, to dri ...

with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 113 RBIs, 241 runs, 522 hits, 66 doubles, 13 triples, and 129 stolen bases in 714

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. Hernández finished his Major League Baseball career with an 80% success rate on stolen bases. He also played from 1967 to 1979 with the Tiburones de La Guaira and Llaneros de Portuguesa of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

. In besides, he spent time with five different minor league clubs in parts of four seasons spanning 1967–1978. Hernández died on January 13, 2013, aged 63, in El Tigre, Venezuela of an apparent suicide, after suffering a long illness. Citing a tweet from journalist Juan Guatache, the Venezuelan newspaper, ''El diario deportivo Líder'', added that the former player "in recent months had received treatment for a depressive condition and in the past December fell to health," without giving other details.

References

External links

1949 births 2013 deaths Albuquerque Dukes players Cocoa Astros players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Greensboro Patriots players Llaneros de Portuguesa players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball shortstops Miami Marlins (FSL) players Oklahoma City 89ers players Rochester Red Wings players Baseball players from Anzoátegui San Diego Padres players Suicides by firearm in Venezuela Tiburones de La Guaira players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States 2013 suicides 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen {{Venezuela-baseball-shortstop-stub

See also

References

External links