Legendary Former Chicago Cubs Pitcher Passes Away
The baseball world mourns the passing of legendary closer Willie Hernandez, who died on Monday at the age of 69.
Hailing from Puerto Rico, Hernandez was one of the best relief pitchers of his 1980s. The dominant left-hander crafted a stellar 13-year MLB career from 1977-1989, making three All-Star teams while pitching for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers.
Hernandez began his career with the Cubs, who drafted him from the Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft in 1976. He debuted for Chicago the following year at age 22 and enjoyed immediate success, going 8-7 with a 3.03 ERA in 110 innings as a rookie.
He struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the next few years, causing the Cubs to trade him to Philadelphia early in the 1983 campaign. That's when his career truly took off, as he helped the Phillies win the '83 pennant before helping the Tigers win the World Series in '84.
A year after Chicago traded him, Hernandez emerged as one of the best firemen in baseball. He earned AL MVP and Cy Young honors in '84 after going 9-3 with a 1.92 ERA and 32 saves in 140 1/3 innings.
The Cubs definitely could have used him that year, as they fell one win short of reaching the Fall Classic. Perhaps if Chicago still had Hernandez, their championship drought would have ended a few decades earlier.
But unfortunately for the Cubs, they gave up on Hernandez too soon. Even worse, they got very little in return for him (Bill Johnson and Dick Ruthven). Just add it to the long list of bad trades in Chicago history.
In his seven seasons with the Cubs, Hernandez went 26-28 with a 3.81 ERA and 20 saves in 323 appearances.
While he didn't fully blossom until after he was traded, he still enjoyed several quality seasons on the North Side before moving on.
