FLUSHING, NY – With a flick of the hand, Roberto Hernandez revitalized his career.
When he entered Spring Training with the New York Mets, the 40 year-old reliever looked finished after a sub-par year with the Philadelphia Phillies, but being reunited with pitching coach Rick Peterson gave Hernandez his old form back.
“The one thing [Peterson] harped on the whole year was to make sure I had hand movement once I pick up my leg and I get on top of the ball,” Hernandez explained. “That’s my trigger mechanism, where I become a lot more consistent down in the zone and locate my fastball a lot better. It turns out that’s the biggest difference between this year and the last two years.”
Peterson was Hernandez’s pitching coach with the Chicago White Sox, when he was considered on of the elite closers in baseball. But age seemed to take toll on the hard throwing righthander and last season, he was almost booed out of Philadelphia when he 3-5 with a 4.77 ERA and allowed 66 hits in 63 games.
“It was tough for me because I didn’t pitch up to my capabilities and if I didn’t like it, then I can’t complain about the fans not liking it,” Hernandez said. “They boo me now because they were hoping this was they guy they wanted last year and that’s understandable. When you try and do things and change your mechanics, it was hard when I already know what my setup is. Last year, it would take me two outing to see what I did wrong. Now it’s instant.”
But this year, the results have been outstanding. Hernandez is 5-3 with very tidy 1.79 ERA in 41 games. He has become a very reliable eighth inning setup man for manager Willie Randolph and still feels he is not slowing down.
“It’s not that hard because I trained my body and my mind to go out there day after day, Hernandez said. “Granted I am a lot older than a lot of these guys here, but I have that mentality to give my team an inning everyday. I don’t do a lot of wasted throwing; I play some catch in our stretch – just enough to get loose – but don’t overdo it. I am ready for them to use me to a point where I don’t waste a lot of bullets.”
Hernandez also feels playing at Shea Stadium has helped and the league has changed with many smaller ballparks popping up. It helps a power pitcher like Hernandez to play in a pitchers park.
“I try to keep the ball down more, since nowadays we have smaller ballparks, guys are stronger and they weren’t like that when I was with the White Sox,” he said. “A lot of these parks right now are more home run hitter’s ballparks. Even the ballpark with the White Sox is more of a home run hitter’s park compared to when I was there.”
His success has allowed Hernandez to take a leadership role in the clubhouse.
“That’s one of the things I have to do,” he said. “I keep [the guys] up and we do a lot of talking about situations. For me, I have been around long enough that I know how to get my work done and get guys out.”
Whatever he is doing, the Mets are very happy with the result.
