Former Dodger Catcher Hired as Coach by Oakland A's
They say catchers make the best coaches, because they have to pay so much attention to so many things on the field during their playing days that is transitions smoothly into paying that same attention from the bench. Bruce Bochy, Mike Scioscia, AJ Hinch, Clint Hurdle, Kevin Cash, David Ross, Bob Melvin — the list of catchers-turned-managers is too long to list, and the coaching ranks are even more full of former backstops.
So it's never surprising when a former catcher gets a coaching gig, including last week when former Dodgers catcher Ramon Hernandez was hired by the A's.
The interpreter part of Hernandez's job makes a lot of sense, as the Venezuela native has two decades of experience merging the English- and Spanish-speaking worlds of baseball. The "staff assistant" part seems just vague enough to let the A's benefit from his vast experience in baseball.
Hernandez spent the first five years of his 15-season career with the A's before bouncing around to five other teams over his final decade. His last season came in 2013, when he played 17 games with the Dodgers backing up AJ Ellis. When Ellis went down with an oblique injury in late May, L.A. called up Tim Federowicz, and when Ellis returned a couple weeks later, Hernandez was the odd man out and was released. He signed with the Blue Jays and played a few minor-league games before being released, but he never played in the big leagues again. After an unsuccessful attempt to catch on with the Royals in spring training in 2014, his career was over.
Hernandez is one of just 53 players in MLB history to homer in his final big-league at-bat. For Hernandez, it came in the bottom of the 12th inning on June 12, 2013, a leadoff homer that would have been a bigger deal if Ronald Belisario and Brandon League hadn't combined to allow four runs in the top of the 12th. He's one of just five Dodgers to homer in his last at-bat.
