Luís Andres Hernández Mendoza (born June 26, 1984) is a

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 ...

n former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

. He played in

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 ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

and Texas Rangers.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Hernández was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

on September 16, 2000. He spent five seasons in the Braves' minor league organization, but only played 19 games for their AAA affiliate, the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

, before moving to Baltimore.

Baltimore Orioles

Hernández was claimed off waivers by the

on October 12, 2006. He made his major league debut for the Orioles as a late-inning defensive replacement July 8, 2007 against the Texas Rangers. Hernández collected his first major league hit, a

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

, in his second career game on July 12, 2007 against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the ...

. Hernández got his hit, a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

to center field, off of the first pitch he saw from White Sox

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Dewon Day in the bottom of the ninth inning. He also got his first major league RBI on the play, as

Jay Gibbons Jay Jonathan Gibbons (born March 2, 1977) is an American former professional baseball right fielder in Major League Baseball. He played college baseball at California State University, Los Angeles and in the Major Leagues for the Baltimore Oriol ...

came in to score. His first major league home run was hit on September 27, 2007 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Hernández was penciled in as the Orioles' starting shortstop for the 2008 season, but faced

Spring Training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

competition from Brandon Fahey. Considered an "all-defense" player, Hernández and Fahey vied for the position vacated by

Miguel Tejada Miguel Odalis Tejada ( Tejeda; born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, before ...

, who was traded to 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 ...

over the offseason. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Kansas City Royals

In November 2008, Hernández signed a minor league deal with the

. He added to the major league roster on May 3, 2009 after Tony Peña Jr.was placed on the disabled list. On July 6, 2009, he was designated for assignment to make room for the newly acquired

Ryan Freel Ryan Paul Freel (March 8, 1976 – December 22, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A utility player, Freel played second base, third base, and all three outfield positions in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, Chica ...

. Hernández was released on January 19, 2010.

New York Mets

On February 3, 2010, Hernández signed a minor league contract with the

. The Mets purchased Hernández's contract from the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

on August 27, 2010. Hernández played in 17 games for the Mets in 2010, batting .250 with two home runs with 6 RBI. His season ended after hitting a foul ball off his right foot, breaking a bone in his foot on September 18, although he still managed to hit a home run on the next pitch. On October 17, 2011, he elected free agency.

Texas Rangers

On December 1, 2011, Hernández signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. Hernández spent most of 2012 with the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, hitting .262/.303/.376 with eight home runs and 70 RBI in 129 games as the team's shortstop. Hernández did play two games with the Rangers, going 0-for-1 in each, coming in as a defensive replacement.

Cleveland Indians

On November 7, 2012, Hernández signed a minor league deal with the

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Wichita Wingnuts

Hernandez signed with the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 sea ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

and played with them in the 2015 season.

Bridgeport Bluefish

On March 29, 2016, Hernández signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. On November 1, 2017, Hernández was drafted by the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

of the

dispersal draft. On February 20, 2018, Hernández signed with the Bees for the 2018 season.

Post-playing career

Hernández announced his retirement prior to the season on April 21, 2018, in order to pursue a coaching opportunity in the

organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Luis 1984 births Living people Arizona League Indians players Baltimore Orioles players Binghamton Mets players Bowie Baysox players Bridgeport Bluefish players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Columbus Clippers players Gulf Coast Braves players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Mississippi Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Omaha Royals players Sportspeople from Lara (state) Richmond Braves players Rome Braves players Round Rock Express players Salt Lake Bees players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tigres de Aragua players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Wichita Wingnuts players

Career

Atlanta Braves

Baltimore Orioles

Kansas City Royals

New York Mets

Texas Rangers

Cleveland Indians

Wichita Wingnuts

Bridgeport Bluefish

Post-playing career

See also

References

External links