Sid Fernandez
Encyclopedia
Charles Sidney Fernandez (born October 12, 1962) was a Major League Baseball
left-handed
pitcher
from to . Born in Honolulu, Hawaii
, Fernandez was proud of his roots and wore uniform number 50
in honor of Hawaii being the 50th state. The theme song to Hawaii Five-O
was often played before his starts at Shea Stadium
during his days with the New York Mets
.
Fernandez had an unorthodox pitching motion with a hesitation at the end followed by a sudden slingshot sidearm delivery. This deceptive motion, coupled with an effective curveball
and a rising fastball
, made him a major strikeout
threat throughout his career. Fernandez' strikeouts were often commemorated by Mets fans in the outfield upper deck with taped signs marked with the letter S for Sid.
While he was popular with Mets fans, critics of Fernandez point out that his statistics were much better in pitcher-friendly Shea Stadium. Every season from to , excluding , his earned run average
was at least two runs worse on the road than at Shea.
Heritage Foundation, Fernandez is believed to be of Portuguese descent. He attended St. Louis High School (briefly) and Kaiser High School in Honolulu and pitched a no-hitter
in his first high school start. He was drafted out of high school at age 18 by the Los Angeles Dodgers
who chose him in the third round (73rd overall) of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
.
, though he was less successful there, and was assigned to the AA San Antonio Dodgers for . At San Antonio, Fernandez went 13-4 with a 2.82 ERA and 209 strikeouts to become only the second pitcher ever to win the Texas League
's pitching triple crown
.
Fernandez was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year, and received a September call-up to the Los Angeles Dodgers, making his major league debut on September 20 versus the Houston Astros
, entering the game in the sixth inning, and allowing one earned run
in three innings of work. He made his first Major League start in the last game of the season, losing to the San Francisco Giants
.
Fernandez fought weight problems throughout his time in the Dodgers organization. He did not make the Dodgers' post-season roster, and following their loss to the Philadelphia Phillies
in the 1983 National League Championship Series
, the Dodgers traded him and infielder
Ross Jones
to the New York Mets for Carlos Diaz
and Bob Bailor
.
Fernandez again split between Tidewater and the Mets. In 170 innings, Fernandez struck out 180 batters while only allowing 108 hits. Both ratios were easily the best in the entire Major Leagues, with second place in both categories going to his teammate and Cy Young Award
winner Dwight Gooden
. Fernandez' 5.71 hits allowed per nine innings are the second-best in National League history behind only Carl Lundgren
's 5.65 in . Fernandez' downfall was bases on balls which, combined with poor run support, resulted in a record of only 9-9. Seven of his nine losses were in games where he gave up two or fewer earned runs. Despite having the third-best record in baseball, the Mets were second-best in their division and thereby missed the postseason.
Fernandez' statistics were only average in but the Mets could do no wrong as he compiled a 16-6 record. A 12-2 start resulted in his first All-Star Game
appearance and the first ever appearance by a Hawaii native. In his only inning of the All-Star Game, Fernandez walked the first two batters but then struck out Brook Jacoby
, Jim Rice
and Don Mattingly
in succession to get out of the inning. For the regular season, his success was almost completely based on home field advantage as his ERA was 2.17 at home and 5.03 on the road. Regardless of his road performance, Fernandez was one of four Mets pitchers to receive consideration for the 1986 Cy Young Award — the only Cy Young Award vote of Fernandez' career. He finished a distant seventh behind the Houston Astros' Mike Scott
.
Fernandez faded in the second half but the Mets easily won the division and he went head-to-head against Scott in Game 4 of the 1986 National League Championship Series
. With a chance for the Mets to take a three-games-to-one lead, Fernandez gave up an early two-run home run
and Scott coasted to a 3-1 win. The Mets recovered to win the next two games.
In the World Series, Mets manager
Davey Johnson
feared starting a left-handed high-fastball pitcher in Fenway Park
with its shallow Green Monster
so Fernandez was stationed in the bullpen
. Dwight Gooden faltered in Game 5, falling behind 4-0 in the pivotal game. Fernandez took over in the fifth inning and shut down the Boston Red Sox
for four innings but the damage was done dropping the Mets into a three-games-to-two hole. After the legendary Bill Buckner
Game 6, the Red Sox recovered to take an early 3-0 lead in the deciding Game 7. With starter Ron Darling
ineffective, Fernandez entered and retired seven batters in a row including four strikeouts. With the momentum seemingly back to the Mets, they scored three runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh and won the game 8-5 for their second world championship.
In , Fernandez was again fantastic for the first ten weeks gaining another All-Star Game appearance — but again declined after the break, going just 3-3. A knee injury caused him to miss three weeks in August and many observers again considered his weight to be a factor. For the second year in row, his statistics were heavily skewed towards home field advantage with a 9-3 record and 2.98 ERA at home compared to 3-5, 5.05 on the road. Similar to 1985, the Mets had a better record than two division winners — but not their own division winner — so they again missed the postseason.
was a reversal as Fernandez started the season miserably and then recovered later in the season. His ERA was 7.53 after three games and 5.57 in mid-May but dropped all the way to 3.32 for the All-Star break. Around that time, he went on a strikeout tear, punching out fifty batters in five games — but only managed a 2-3 record. He finished out the season well and the Mets won 100 games, making the postseason for the second time in three years. For the second time, Fernandez led the Majors in hits allowed per nine innings. For the third year in a row, home field advantage was a huge factor for Fernandez with an 8-4 record and 1.83 ERA at home compared to 4-6, 4.36 on the road. With the 1988 National League Championship Series
tied, Fernandez was chosen to start the important Game 5 and he responded by pitching well for three innings. In the fourth inning, he fell apart, giving up three runs and, in the fifth, Kirk Gibson
hit a three-run homer to knock him out of the game. The Dodgers coasted to a 7-4 victory and won the series in seven games. What many thought would be a Mets dynasty never materialized and they didn't make the playoffs again until 1999.
was arguably Fernandez' best season. He started the season in the bullpen but, after allowing only two hits in five scoreless innings, he was back in the rotation. He went into the All-Star break at 7-2 with an ERA under three and, in his first game after the break, he struck out a career-high sixteen Atlanta Braves
in eight innings (but lost the game on a ninth inning home run). The strikeout total is still the all-time Mets record for left-handers. Fernandez ended the season with a 14-5 record — best in the National League — and ranked in the top ten in the league in several categories including ERA, strikeouts, hits per nine innings, strikeouts per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He even pitched well on the road for the first time in four years compiling a 7-3 record with a 2.91 ERA away from pitcher-friendly Shea. He won his last three games but the Mets could not gain ground on the Chicago Cubs
and missed the playoffs with their worst record in six years.
brought a return to the statistical leaderboards for Fernandez but his team-leading fourteen wins could not save the Mets from a second straight fifth-place finish in their six-team division.
was the culmination of numerous poor trades and free agency signings and resulted in the worst Mets record in recent memory. Among the many disasters, Fernandez, who had become an ace of the staff and one of the last links to the Mets recent glory days, missed half the season with another knee injury while covering first base. The 1993 injury would plague him for the rest of his career. He came back to put up good numbers that season but the Mets were in dire need of drastic change and Fernandez left for free agency
.
for and managed to strike out 7.41 batters per nine innings in his only full season there before the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. But his 5.15 ERA was the worst of his career to that point and, despite again spending time on the disabled list
, his 27 home runs allowed
was second-worst in the Majors. He spent more time on the disabled list in . On June 29, Sid allowed three home runs in a game for the first time in his career in a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays
, dropping his record to 0-4. He was released during the All-Star break.
when the Phillies signed him. He showed flashes of brilliance — including a one-hit game over seven innings on July 26 — and went 6-1 for the Phils. He was even named N.L. Pitcher of the Month in August by going 5-0. The resurgence earned Fernandez his only opening day start in but more injuries ended his season in June and he was back on the free agent market.
On September 28, 1996, baseball took a back seat when Fernandez' father-in-law, Don Mike Gillis, was shot to death in Honolulu. Fernandez soon announced the dedication of his 1997 season to Gillis. A disturbed co-worker was eventually convicted of the murder.
Fernandez was signed by the Astros for 1997 but complained of elbow problems during spring training. After just one start, he was back on the disabled list and, after unsuccessful rehabilitation, Fernandez retired on August 1, 1997.
Fernandez allowed only 6.85 hits per nine innings for his career which is the fourth-best total in history behind only Baseball Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan
and Sandy Koufax
and three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martínez
. Opponents batted only .209 against him.
Jeremy Harris
in an effort to find sponsors and users for sporting facilities on Hawaii's Oahu
island. In 1998, he was then made Honolulu sports industry development director and traveled with Harris to Japan
to recruit baseball teams there.
In 2000, Fernandez was the pitching coach of the semi-pro Alaska Baseball League
's Hawaii Island Movers.
In February , Fernandez surprised many by showing up at New York Yankees
Spring training
. He was given a minor league contract and pitched in one game for the Columbus Clippers
on April 7. He pitched poorly and ended with a sore knee which put him back on the disabled list. He re-retired about a week later.
In , Fernandez received two votes in his only Hall of Fame ballot
. In 2004, Fernandez served as a coach in a Hawaii high school baseball all-star game. http://starbulletin.com/2004/05/28/sports/prepbeat.html.
Fernandez has also spent a lot of time golfing in celebrity matches and making other appearances since his retirement. He and his wife, Noelani, operate the Sid Fernandez Foundation, which awards four $5,000 college scholarships each year to seniors from the Fernandezes' alma mater, Kaiser High School.
On December 20, 2007, Fernandez's name appeared in the unsealed Kirk Radomski
affidavit. The affidavit details Radomski receiving a $3,500 check from Fernandez dated February 2005, but the affidavit does not specify its purpose. Fernandez was one of only four baseball players listed in the affidavit who was not referred to in the Mitchell Report
, the others being Rick Holyfield, Pete Rose Jr.
and Ryan Schurman.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
from to . Born in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, Fernandez was proud of his roots and wore uniform number 50
50 (number)
This article discusses the number fifty. For the year 50 CE, see 50. For other uses of 50, see 50 50 is the natural number following 49 and preceding 51.-In mathematics:...
in honor of Hawaii being the 50th state. The theme song to Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
was often played before his starts at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
during his days with the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
.
Fernandez had an unorthodox pitching motion with a hesitation at the end followed by a sudden slingshot sidearm delivery. This deceptive motion, coupled with an effective curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
and a rising fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
, made him a major strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
threat throughout his career. Fernandez' strikeouts were often commemorated by Mets fans in the outfield upper deck with taped signs marked with the letter S for Sid.
While he was popular with Mets fans, critics of Fernandez point out that his statistics were much better in pitcher-friendly Shea Stadium. Every season from to , excluding , his earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
was at least two runs worse on the road than at Shea.
Background
According to the PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Heritage Foundation, Fernandez is believed to be of Portuguese descent. He attended St. Louis High School (briefly) and Kaiser High School in Honolulu and pitched a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
in his first high school start. He was drafted out of high school at age 18 by the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
who chose him in the third round (73rd overall) of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft
1981 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.- Other notable players :*John Elway was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft...
.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Over 76 innings pitched with the Pioneer League's Lethbridge Dodgers, Fernandez struck out 128 batters, and posted a 5-1 record, with a 1.54 ERA his first professional season. After going 8-1 with a 1.91 ERA and 137 strikeouts for the class high A Vero Beach Dodgers in the first half of the season, Fernandez was promoted to the AAA Albuquerque DukesAlbuquerque Dukes
The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.-History:The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class-D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank Huelman was the league leader in home runs,...
, though he was less successful there, and was assigned to the AA San Antonio Dodgers for . At San Antonio, Fernandez went 13-4 with a 2.82 ERA and 209 strikeouts to become only the second pitcher ever to win the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
's pitching triple crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
.
Fernandez was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year, and received a September call-up to the Los Angeles Dodgers, making his major league debut on September 20 versus the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
, entering the game in the sixth inning, and allowing one earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
in three innings of work. He made his first Major League start in the last game of the season, losing to the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
.
Fernandez fought weight problems throughout his time in the Dodgers organization. He did not make the Dodgers' post-season roster, and following their loss to the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
in the 1983 National League Championship Series
1983 National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series was a best-of-five matchup between the Western Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the Eastern Division champion Philadelphia Phillies...
, the Dodgers traded him and infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
Ross Jones
Ross Jones
Ross A. Jones is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. Jones was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers ninth overall in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft...
to the New York Mets for Carlos Diaz
Carlos Diaz (pitcher)
Carlos Antonio Diaz is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Born in Kaneohe, Hawaii, he was the thirteenth native Hawaiian to have played in the major leagues....
and Bob Bailor
Bob Bailor
Robert Michael Bailor is a former right-handed utility player in Major League Baseball, best known for his speed and for being difficult to strike out...
.
New York Mets
Despite a 6-5 record, Fernandez had 123 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA in with the triple A Tidewater Tides to earn a call-up to New York in mid-July. He earned his first major league win in his first start with the Mets on July 16 against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome. For the season, Fernandez went 6-6 with a 3.50 ERA in fifteen starts.Fernandez again split between Tidewater and the Mets. In 170 innings, Fernandez struck out 180 batters while only allowing 108 hits. Both ratios were easily the best in the entire Major Leagues, with second place in both categories going to his teammate and Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
winner Dwight Gooden
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden , nicknamed "Doc Gooden" or "Dr. K", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s.-Career:...
. Fernandez' 5.71 hits allowed per nine innings are the second-best in National League history behind only Carl Lundgren
Carl Lundgren
Carl Leonard "Lundy" Lundgren was an American baseball and football player and coach.Lundgren played football and baseball for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and played eight seasons of Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. In eight years with the Cubs, he compiled...
's 5.65 in . Fernandez' downfall was bases on balls which, combined with poor run support, resulted in a record of only 9-9. Seven of his nine losses were in games where he gave up two or fewer earned runs. Despite having the third-best record in baseball, the Mets were second-best in their division and thereby missed the postseason.
Fernandez' statistics were only average in but the Mets could do no wrong as he compiled a 16-6 record. A 12-2 start resulted in his first All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
appearance and the first ever appearance by a Hawaii native. In his only inning of the All-Star Game, Fernandez walked the first two batters but then struck out Brook Jacoby
Brook Jacoby
Brook Wallace Jacoby is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and the current hitting coach of the Cincinnati Reds. Jacoby played in the major leagues from 1981 through 1992, and in Japan in 1993. He batted and threw right-handed. His father Brook Wallace Jacoby Sr...
, Jim Rice
Jim Rice
James Edward "Jim" Rice , nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder.Jim Rice played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox from 1974 to 1989...
and Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
in succession to get out of the inning. For the regular season, his success was almost completely based on home field advantage as his ERA was 2.17 at home and 5.03 on the road. Regardless of his road performance, Fernandez was one of four Mets pitchers to receive consideration for the 1986 Cy Young Award — the only Cy Young Award vote of Fernandez' career. He finished a distant seventh behind the Houston Astros' Mike Scott
Mike Scott (baseball)
Michael Warren "Mike" Scott is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets and the Houston Astros. He won the National League Cy Young Award in...
.
Fernandez faded in the second half but the Mets easily won the division and he went head-to-head against Scott in Game 4 of the 1986 National League Championship Series
1986 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 8, 1986 at Astrodome in Houston, TexasGame 1 featured a pitching duel between eventual NLCS Most Valuable Player Mike Scott and Dwight Gooden. Scott allowed just five hits and walked one while striking out 14 in a complete-game effort as the host Astros prevailed 1–0...
. With a chance for the Mets to take a three-games-to-one lead, Fernandez gave up an early two-run home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
and Scott coasted to a 3-1 win. The Mets recovered to win the next two games.
In the World Series, Mets manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Davey Johnson
Davey Johnson
David Allen "Davey" Johnson is an American Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Washington Nationals. He was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles when they won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1965 and 1972...
feared starting a left-handed high-fastball pitcher in Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
with its shallow Green Monster
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the thirty-seven foot , two-inch high left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team...
so Fernandez was stationed in the bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
. Dwight Gooden faltered in Game 5, falling behind 4-0 in the pivotal game. Fernandez took over in the fifth inning and shut down the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
for four innings but the damage was done dropping the Mets into a three-games-to-two hole. After the legendary Bill Buckner
Bill Buckner
William Joseph Buckner is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Despite winning a batting crown in , representing the Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game the following season and accumulating over 2,700 hits in his twenty-year career, he is best remembered for a fielding error during Game 6...
Game 6, the Red Sox recovered to take an early 3-0 lead in the deciding Game 7. With starter Ron Darling
Ron Darling
Ronald Maurice Darling, Jr. is an American former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics and Montreal Expos...
ineffective, Fernandez entered and retired seven batters in a row including four strikeouts. With the momentum seemingly back to the Mets, they scored three runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh and won the game 8-5 for their second world championship.
In , Fernandez was again fantastic for the first ten weeks gaining another All-Star Game appearance — but again declined after the break, going just 3-3. A knee injury caused him to miss three weeks in August and many observers again considered his weight to be a factor. For the second year in row, his statistics were heavily skewed towards home field advantage with a 9-3 record and 2.98 ERA at home compared to 3-5, 5.05 on the road. Similar to 1985, the Mets had a better record than two division winners — but not their own division winner — so they again missed the postseason.
was a reversal as Fernandez started the season miserably and then recovered later in the season. His ERA was 7.53 after three games and 5.57 in mid-May but dropped all the way to 3.32 for the All-Star break. Around that time, he went on a strikeout tear, punching out fifty batters in five games — but only managed a 2-3 record. He finished out the season well and the Mets won 100 games, making the postseason for the second time in three years. For the second time, Fernandez led the Majors in hits allowed per nine innings. For the third year in a row, home field advantage was a huge factor for Fernandez with an 8-4 record and 1.83 ERA at home compared to 4-6, 4.36 on the road. With the 1988 National League Championship Series
1988 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 4, 1988 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe series opened with a classic pitching matchup, pitting the Dodgers' Orel Hershiser, who had won 23 games during the regular season and carried a Major League record 59 consecutive scoreless innings into the game,...
tied, Fernandez was chosen to start the important Game 5 and he responded by pitching well for three innings. In the fourth inning, he fell apart, giving up three runs and, in the fifth, Kirk Gibson
Kirk Gibson
Kirk Harold Gibson is a former Major League Baseball player and currently the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a player, Gibson was an outfielder who batted and threw left-handed...
hit a three-run homer to knock him out of the game. The Dodgers coasted to a 7-4 victory and won the series in seven games. What many thought would be a Mets dynasty never materialized and they didn't make the playoffs again until 1999.
was arguably Fernandez' best season. He started the season in the bullpen but, after allowing only two hits in five scoreless innings, he was back in the rotation. He went into the All-Star break at 7-2 with an ERA under three and, in his first game after the break, he struck out a career-high sixteen Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
in eight innings (but lost the game on a ninth inning home run). The strikeout total is still the all-time Mets record for left-handers. Fernandez ended the season with a 14-5 record — best in the National League — and ranked in the top ten in the league in several categories including ERA, strikeouts, hits per nine innings, strikeouts per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He even pitched well on the road for the first time in four years compiling a 7-3 record with a 2.91 ERA away from pitcher-friendly Shea. He won his last three games but the Mets could not gain ground on the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
and missed the playoffs with their worst record in six years.
New York Mets decline
In , Fernandez was again in the top ten in several categories but luck was not one of them as he finished the season at 9-14, the worst record of his career. He fell back into his old form of pitching well only at home, going 8-5 with a 2.41 ERA at Shea and 1-9, 4.94 on the road. was even worse as he broke his arm in spring training and returned in mid-July, only to go down again with knee problems in early September.brought a return to the statistical leaderboards for Fernandez but his team-leading fourteen wins could not save the Mets from a second straight fifth-place finish in their six-team division.
was the culmination of numerous poor trades and free agency signings and resulted in the worst Mets record in recent memory. Among the many disasters, Fernandez, who had become an ace of the staff and one of the last links to the Mets recent glory days, missed half the season with another knee injury while covering first base. The 1993 injury would plague him for the rest of his career. He came back to put up good numbers that season but the Mets were in dire need of drastic change and Fernandez left for free agency
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
Baltimore Orioles
After 1993, Fernandez never came close to his numbers with the Mets and never again played in the postseason. He was signed by the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
for and managed to strike out 7.41 batters per nine innings in his only full season there before the 1994 Major League Baseball strike. But his 5.15 ERA was the worst of his career to that point and, despite again spending time on the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
, his 27 home runs allowed
Home runs allowed
In baseball statistics, home runs allowed signifies the total number of home runs a pitcher allowed.The record for the most home runs allowed by any pitcher belongs to Jamie Moyer , the oldest active pitcher in the major leagues...
was second-worst in the Majors. He spent more time on the disabled list in . On June 29, Sid allowed three home runs in a game for the first time in his career in a 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
, dropping his record to 0-4. He was released during the All-Star break.
Philadelphia Phillies
Three days after his release, Fernandez was back in the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
when the Phillies signed him. He showed flashes of brilliance — including a one-hit game over seven innings on July 26 — and went 6-1 for the Phils. He was even named N.L. Pitcher of the Month in August by going 5-0. The resurgence earned Fernandez his only opening day start in but more injuries ended his season in June and he was back on the free agent market.
On September 28, 1996, baseball took a back seat when Fernandez' father-in-law, Don Mike Gillis, was shot to death in Honolulu. Fernandez soon announced the dedication of his 1997 season to Gillis. A disturbed co-worker was eventually convicted of the murder.
Fernandez was signed by the Astros for 1997 but complained of elbow problems during spring training. After just one start, he was back on the disabled list and, after unsuccessful rehabilitation, Fernandez retired on August 1, 1997.
Fernandez allowed only 6.85 hits per nine innings for his career which is the fourth-best total in history behind only Baseball Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
and Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...
and three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martínez
Pedro Martínez
Pedro Jaime Martínez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion...
. Opponents batted only .209 against him.
Post-retirement & comeback attempt
After retiring as a player, Fernandez moved back to his native Hawaii. He was hired as an executive assistant to Mayor of HonoluluMayor of Honolulu
The Mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu and considered the third most powerful official in the U.S. state of Hawaii, behind the Governor of Hawaii and the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii...
Jeremy Harris
Jeremy Harris
Jeremy Harris, born December 7, 1950 in Wilmington, Delaware, served as Mayor of Honolulu from 1994 to 2004. A biologist by training, Harris started his political career as a delegate to the 1978 Hawai'i State Constitutional Convention...
in an effort to find sponsors and users for sporting facilities on Hawaii's Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
island. In 1998, he was then made Honolulu sports industry development director and traveled with Harris to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to recruit baseball teams there.
In 2000, Fernandez was the pitching coach of the semi-pro Alaska Baseball League
Alaska Baseball League
The Alaska Baseball League is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league, with six teams located in four Alaskan cities. Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining....
's Hawaii Island Movers.
In February , Fernandez surprised many by showing up at New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
Spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
. He was given a minor league contract and pitched in one game for the Columbus Clippers
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....
on April 7. He pitched poorly and ended with a sore knee which put him back on the disabled list. He re-retired about a week later.
In , Fernandez received two votes in his only Hall of Fame ballot
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2003
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2003 proceeded in keeping with rules enacted in 2001. The Baseball Writers Association of America held an election to select from among recent players...
. In 2004, Fernandez served as a coach in a Hawaii high school baseball all-star game. http://starbulletin.com/2004/05/28/sports/prepbeat.html.
Fernandez has also spent a lot of time golfing in celebrity matches and making other appearances since his retirement. He and his wife, Noelani, operate the Sid Fernandez Foundation, which awards four $5,000 college scholarships each year to seniors from the Fernandezes' alma mater, Kaiser High School.
On December 20, 2007, Fernandez's name appeared in the unsealed Kirk Radomski
Kirk Radomski
Kirk J. Radomski is a former batboy and clubhouse employee for the New York Mets Major League Baseball team from 1985–1995, who on April 27, 2007 pleaded guilty in United States district court to money laundering and illegal distribution of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, Clenbuterol,...
affidavit. The affidavit details Radomski receiving a $3,500 check from Fernandez dated February 2005, but the affidavit does not specify its purpose. Fernandez was one of only four baseball players listed in the affidavit who was not referred to in the Mitchell Report
Mitchell Report (baseball)
The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, informally known as the "Mitchell Report", is the result of former Democratic United States Senator from Maine...
, the others being Rick Holyfield, Pete Rose Jr.
Pete Rose Jr.
Peter Edward "PJ" Rose Jr. is a former professional baseball player. The son of Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader Pete Rose, Pete Jr. has played in the minor leagues most of his career except for a brief stint in for the Cincinnati Reds. He was released Sept...
and Ryan Schurman.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all timeTop 100 strikeout pitchers of all timeIn baseball, a strikeout occurs when the batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. Strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher and failure on the part of the batter....