Enrique Hernández (baseball)

Hernández attended high school at the American Military Academy in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.[1] Though he was 5 foot 6 inches tall in his junior year, he grew five inches in his senior year.[8] He and catcher Geovany Soto are the only MLB players to be drafted out of the American Military Academy.[5]

Hernández with the Houston Astros in 2014 (left) and their triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City RedHawks (right)

The Houston Astros drafted Hernández in the sixth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He earned a $150,000 signing bonus.[1] In 2009, he played primarily second base and third base, and in 2010, he played exclusively second base.[9]

He was called up to the majors for the first time on July 1, 2014.[10] He made his major league debut the same day, entering a game against the Seattle Mariners as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and collecting two hits, the first of which was a ground-rule double in his first at-bat off Dominic Leone of the Mariners.[11] He hit his first home run the following day off Chris Young of the Mariners.[12] In 24 games, he hit .284/.348/.420 for the Astros.[13]

On July 31, 2014, the Astros traded Hernández, Jarred Cosart, and Austin Wates to the Miami Marlins for Jake Marisnick, Colin Moran, Francis Martes, and a compensatory draft pick.[14][15] Playing for the Marlins on September 26, 2014, Hernández hit a ninth-inning grand slam off Craig Stammen of the Washington Nationals for his first career grand slam in the major leagues. Overall, Hernández appeared in 18 games for the Marlins and batted .175/.267/.425 (seven hits in 40 at bats).[13]

On December 10, 2014, Hernández was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Chris Hatcher, Austin Barnes, and Andrew Heaney, in exchange for Dan Haren, Dee Gordon, Miguel Rojas, and cash.[16] He was assigned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers[17] and was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 28, 2015.[18] He was used all over the field, with 20 games at second base, 19 in center field, 17 in left field, 16 at shortstop, 2 in right field and one at third base.[13] In August, Hernández replaced a slumping Joc Pederson as the primary starting center fielder,[19] though he missed much of September with a hamstring strain.[20] He played in 76 games for the team in 2015, batting .307/.346/.490, with seven homers and 22 RBI.[13] In 2015 he led all MLB hitters (60 or more plate appearances) in batting average against left-handers, at .423.[21] During the season, he was known for his sense of humor and for wearing a banana suit in the dugout during games in which he was not playing.[22]

In 2016, Hernández was less effective, hitting only .190/.283/.324 with seven homers and 18 RBI in 109 games.[23] He was left off the roster for the first round of the playoffs and was hitless in eight at-bats in the 2016 National League Championship Series.[13]

In 2017, he batted .215/.308/.421 in 297 at bats with 11 home runs and 37 RBIs, while playing at least one inning at every position except pitcher or catcher.[13] In the 2017 National League Division Series, he had one hit, a double, in three at-bats.[13] In the fifth game of the 2017 National League Championship Series, he hit three home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in seven runs to tie the record for most RBI in a postseason game, helping send the Dodgers to the World Series for the first time since 1988.[24] In the World Series, he had three hits in 13 at-bats (.231 average) as the Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros in seven games.[13]

Hernández was eligible for salary arbitration for the first time after the season, and in January 2018 signed a one-year, $1.6 million, contract for 2018.[25]

On July 25, 2018, Hernández pitched in a game for the first time in his career, entering in the 16th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies and picking up the loss after walking two batters and giving up a three-run walk-off home run. He is the first position player since Babe Ruth to play in the infield, outfield and give up 3 runs or more in the same game. He is also the first position player ever to give up a walk-off home run.[26] For the season, he batted .256/.336/.470, hitting a career high 21 home runs and 52 RBIs.[13] In the postseason, he was two for 12 in the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, one for 14 in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers and two for 15 in the 2018 World Series against the Boston Red Sox, with one home run.[13]

On April 19, 2019, Hernandez became the first player to hit a home run off Josh Hader when the count was 0-2. The Milwaukee Brewers pitcher had gone up 0-2 on 82 batters previously and held them to a .049 batting average.[27] On August 22, 2019, Hernandez hit his first career walk-off hit in the team's 3-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.[28] He would finish the season batting .237 with 17 home runs and a career-high 62 RBIs.[13]

Hernandez agreed with the Dodgers on a one-year, $5.9 million, contract, avoiding arbitration.[29]