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Carlos Alberto Almeida Hernández [er-NAN-dez] (born May 24, 1967 in San Félix, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-96), San Diego Padres (1997-2000) and St. Louis Cardinals (2000).
Signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1984, Hernández became the second Venezuelan catcher in the MLB history, following Bo Diaz. He made his debut in the 1990 season, basically as a backup for Mike Piazza. A high skilled defensive player, Hernández spent his Dodgers career as Piazza's understudy at catcher, appearing in 230 games, including 133 starts. He signed as a free agent with San Diego and later was traded to the Cardinals.
In his first full major league season as a regular catcher for the Padres, Hernández batted .262, with 9 home runs and 52 runs batted in in 129 games played. In 22-postseason games, he hit .299 (20-67) with one homer and two RBI.
Hernández finished his career batting .253 (315-1244) with 24 home runs, 141 RBI, 102 runs, 51 doubles, one triple, and one stolen base in 488 games played.
In 2004, Hernández started his career as a manager with the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League.
See also
External links
- Career notes at Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers (http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/hernandezc.htm)
- Page at Baseball Reference (http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hernaca01.shtml)