Rudolph Albert Hernández Fuentes (December 10, 1931 – November 23, 2022) was a Dominican

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 ...

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 ...

. The , right-hander was signed by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

before the 1950 season. He was acquired by the original, modern-era Washington Senators from the

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

before the 1959 season, and later drafted by the new Washington Senators from the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

in the

1960 MLB expansion draft The 1960 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on December 14, 1960, to fill the rosters of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators. The Angels and Senators (who later became the Texas Rangers) were new franchises tha ...

. When he made his major league debut on July 3, 1960 Hernández became only the fourth native of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

to play in the major leagues, and the first pitcher. He preceded

Juan Marichal Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1975, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. Known ...

by sixteen days. Hernández was one of a small number of ballplayers to play for both of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

's Washington Senators franchises, and one of only three to play for them in consecutive seasons. ( Hal Woodeshick and

Héctor Maestri Héctor Anibal Maestri Garcia (April 19, 1935 – February 21, 2014) was a Cuban-born Major League Baseball pitcher. Maestri was one of nine ballplayers to have appeared for both of the 20th century, American League Washington Senators franchis ...

are the others.) Hernández appeared in twenty-one games for the original

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

club, and also appeared in seven games for the expansion Senators. His two-season career totals were 43

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, 13

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is the ...

, a 4–2 record, and a 4.12

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. His best game occurred on July 9, 1960, when he pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn a victory against 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 ...

. He died in Condado, Puerto Rico on November 23, 2022.

References

External links

Retrosheet
1931 births 2022 deaths Albuquerque Dukes players Águilas Cibaeñas players Charleston Senators players Chattanooga Lookouts players Corpus Christi Giants players Dallas Rangers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gastonia Rockets players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Muskogee Giants players Oshkosh Giants players Baseball players from Santiago de los Caballeros Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sioux City Soos players St. Cloud Rox players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-pitcher-stub