Rodolfo "Rudy" Hernández Acosta (born October 18, 1951) is a Mexican former

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 ...

and

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. Listed at 5' 9", 150 lb., Hernández batted and threw right handed. He was born in

Empalme, Sonora Empalme is a city surrounded by the homonymous municipality located on the south-central coast of the Mexican state of Sonora. According to the 2005 census, the population of the city was 40,630 inhabitants, while the municipality, which has an are ...

Career

Hernández appeared in eight games for 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 ...

in its 1972 season. He was acquired by the Sox from the

Charros de Jalisco The Charros de Jalisco () are a professional baseball team who compete in both the Mexican League (LMB) and the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), based in Zapopan, Jalisco, in the Guadalajara metropolitan area. Their home ballpark is Estadio Pana ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

in July 1972. He made his majors debut on September 6 of that same year. At the age of 20, he was the fifth-youngest player to appear in an

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 ...

game that season. During his short stint with the White Sox, he hit just .190 (4-for-21) but was excellent in the field. His four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

were against

Clyde Wright Clyde Wright (born February 20, 1941), nicknamed "Skeeter", is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the California Angels (1966–73), Milwauke ...

Rich Hand Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels. Born ...

, Dick Bosman, and

Bert Blyleven Rik Aalbert Blyleven (born Blijleven, April 6, 1951) is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher and color commentator. He played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins, and f ...

. Besides, he recorded 10

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base (a tag ...

s and 16 assists without

errors An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

, and participated in three

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

s. Hernández was traded back to Jalisco for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Francisco Barrios on December 4, 1973. In between, Hernández had a successful career in Mexico, where he played professional baseball for 19 years, between the

and the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

. He posted a .264

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 148

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 and 958 RBI in the Mexican League. His statistics for the Mexican Pacific League have yet been registered. Hernández also took part of a few championships, like the 1987 with Venados de Mazatlan, and the memorable 1984 with

Leones de Yucatan Leones may refer to: * Colegio Los Leones de Quilpué, basketball team from Chile * Sierra Leonean Leone, currency of Sierra Leone * Leones (football team), from El Salvador * , a city in Marcos Juárez Department, Córdoba Province, Argentina * Le ...

External links

, o
Retrosheet
1951 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Mexicali Aguilas players Alacranes de Campeche players Alacranes de Durango players Angeles de Puebla players Baseball players from Empalme, Sonora Broncos de Reynosa players Cafeteros de Córdoba players Charros de Jalisco players Charros de San Luis Potosí players Chicago White Sox players Iowa Oaks players Knoxville Sox players Leones de Yucatán players Major League Baseball players from Mexico 20th-century Mexican sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Mexican League Rookie of the Year Award winners Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Minor league baseball managers Sultanes de Monterrey players Tucson Toros players Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players Venados de Mazatlán players {{Mexico-baseball-shortstop-stub