Anderson Hernández

Infobox MLB player


width=300
name=Anderson Hernández
positionplain=Second base / Shortstop
team=Washington Nationals
number=6
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|10|30
birthplace=Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
debutdate=September 18
debutyear=2005
debutteam=New York Mets
statyear=August 30, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.212
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=1
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=8
teams=
*New York Mets (by|2005-by|2007)
*Washington Nationals (by|2008-present)

Anderson Hernández (born October 30, 1982 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a middle infielder in Major League Baseball for the Washington Nationals. He made his major league debut in mlby|2005 for the New York Mets.

Hernández is a 5'9" switch hitter with decent speed. He was signed as an undrafted free agent at age 18 by the Detroit Tigers in by|2001. In the minor leagues, Hernández showed poor patience and high strikeouts typical of a teenager and didn't rise past single-A until by|2004. In his first season, he batted .264/.303/.389 with 34 stolen bases in just 216 at-bats. However, he progressed slowly. In by|2002, playing in High-A ball, he showed poor hitting skills, batting just .259/.310/.339. The next season was even worse. Hernandez struggled to hit above the Mendoza line, (.229/.278/.295) and stole just 15 bases. But the next season started off well for him. After batting .295 with 11 RBI in about 100 AB, he was called up to Double-A Erie where he batted .274 with 5 home runs, 29 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. After that season, he was traded to the New York Mets for catcher Vance Wilson who had become expendable after the Mets signed Ramón Castro.

With the Mets out of playoff contention in mlby|2005 and Hernández hitting over .300 in both Double-A and Triple-A, he was called up to the majors in mid-September but went 0-for-14 before finally getting his first hit in the last game of the season. Due to the knee injury of Kazuo Matsui, Hernández was the starting second baseman for the Mets to start the mlby|2006 season, but was soon injured and placed on the 15-day DL.

Hernández also plays in his native country, the Dominican Republic, on Tigres del Licey. He won the Rookie of the Year in the regular season and also the MVP during the finals. He and shortstop Erick Aybar are called "los menores" (Spanish for "the kids") and are known as one of the best middle infields in the Dominican Republic.

On August 20, mlby|2008, Hernandez was dealt to the Washington Nationals to complete the trade for relief pitcher Luis Ayala. [http://www.newsday.com/about/ny-spayala1811869557aug18,0,2721235.story]

Career Statistics

References

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb=435038 |espn=6451 |br=h/hernaan01 |fangraphs=3366 |cube=h/anderson-hernandez