Background and career
Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera (Spanish pronunciation: [liˈβan eɾˈnandes]; born February 20, 1975) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over a 17-year career, he played for nine different teams and was named to two All-Star Games. He was named the MVP of the 1997 World Series with the Florida Marlins. He is the half-brother of pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernández. Hernández played for the Florida Marlins (1996–1999), the San Francisco Giants (1999–2002), the Montreal Expos (2003–2004), the Washington Nationals (2005–2006, 2009–2011), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2006–2007), the Minnesota Twins (2008), the Colorado Rockies (2008), the New York Mets (2009), the Atlanta Braves (2012) and the Milwaukee Brewers (2012). He bats and throws right-handed, and was known for throwing a "slow hook" curveball, sometimes below 60 miles per hour, as a strikeout pitch. A two-time All-Star, Hernández was considered to be a great defensive pitcher, having made just fifteen errors in his career. He was described as a workhorse due to his ability to pitch deep into games. Between 1998 and 2007, he never pitched fewer than 199 innings in any given season (in 1999 he threw only 1992⁄3 innings). Hernández led the National League in innings pitched in three consecutive seasons, 2003 through 2005, and led the league in complete games for the first two of those years. In 2005, he once threw 150 pitches in nine innings, although the game went into extra innings after he left. In 2004 and 2005, he led the major leagues with 3,927 and 4,009 pitches, respectively.
Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera was born on February 20, 1975, to a poor family in the Villa Clara Province in Cuba. Hernández's actual age has been the subject of debate. Some believe he is older than his given birthday. After meeting recruiter Joe Cubas in Venezuela in 1994, the two planned an escape through Mexico. At the age of 20, Hernández gave up his job as an official Cuban athlete and defected to the United States in 1995. His half-brother, Orlando, would defect two years later.
After meeting with numerous team officials in the Dominican Republic, Hernández signed a four-year, $4.5 million contract with the Florida Marlins on January 13, 1996, in order to live in Miami.
He made his major league debut for the Marlins on September 24, 1996, tossing three scoreless innings in a relief appearance against the Atlanta Braves. Hernández joined the team for good in June 1997. He finished his rookie season with a 9–3 record, a 3.17 ERA, and 72 strikeouts in 17 starts. The Marlins reached the 1997 World Series, and Hernández started and won Games 1 and 5 of the series against the Cleveland Indians. In the 1997 National League Championship Series, he struck out a postseason-record 15 batters in Game 5 against the Atlanta Braves. His efforts earned him the World Series MVP trophy. Before Game 7, Hernández was able to meet his mother, Miriam Carreras, for the first time in two years. The moment was the result of concerted efforts by the Cuban and United States governments as well as a written plea from the entire roster of players. His mother and sister now reside in Miami.
On July 25, 1999, the Marlins traded Hernández to the San Francisco Giants for minor leaguers Nate Bump and Jason Grilli. He tallied a career-high 17 wins in 2000, finishing the year with a 17–11 record in 33 starts, alongside a 3.75 ERA in 240 innings. He would regress slightly in the next two seasons, despite pitching 226+2⁄3 and 216 innings respectively, as he went 13–15 with a 5.24 ERA in 2001 and 12–16 with a 4.38 ERA in 2002 (his 16 losses that year were tied for the most in the National League). Hernández would go on to pitch in five postseason games during his stint with the Giants, one in 2000 and four in 2002. During the 2002 postseason, Hernández had a record of 1–2 with an ERA of 6.20.
On March 23, 2003, following his loss in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series, Hernández, along with infielder Edwards Guzmán, were traded by the Giants to the Montreal Expos for relief pitchers Jim Brower and Matt Blank. From 2003 to 2005, Hernández led the National League in innings pitched, and led the league in complete games 2003 and 2004. In 2003, Hernández posted a 15–10 record and had a career-low 3.20 ERA in 33 starts. He threw 233+1⁄3 innings, including eight complete games, giving up just 225 hits and 57 walks, while recording 178 strikeouts (the seventh-most in the NL) and a career-high 6.87 K/9 ratio, and turned in 22 quality starts. Hernández was particularly dominant in July, going 4–1 in six starts with a 1.80 ERA in 50 innings, throwing three complete games, striking out 43 and holding opponents to a .197 batting average. This helped earn him the NL Pitcher of the Month Award (he also won the Player of the Week Award on July 13, after throwing back-to-back complete game victories and striking out 16.). His most dominant stretch came from July 2 to September 5; Hernández recorded 13 consecutive quality starts, allowing two earned runs or less in 11 of those starts, and pitching at least seven innings in all but one of them. He recorded a 9–2 record with a 1.54 ERA in 105 innings during this stretch, averaging over eight innings per start, while striking out 95 against just 24 walks and holding opponents to a .203 batting average. The following season, Hernández was selected to represent the Expos at the 2004 All-Star Game in Houston, Texas. This would turn out to be the first of two selections to the Midsummer Classic for Hernández during his career and the last All-Star selection for the Expos. Despite an 11–15 record, Hernández posted a respectable 3.60 ERA in 35 starts (20 of his starts were quality). His 255 innings pitched led all major league pitchers, while giving up just 234 hits, 86 walks, 26 home runs, and holding opponents to a .248 batting average. He struck out a career-high 186 batters (good for ninth in the NL) and threw nine complete games, including two shutouts. Hernández also won the National League Silver Slugger Award for a pitcher, hitting .247 with one home run and 10 RBI. Between the 2004 and 2005 MLB season, the Montreal Expos franchise, with Hernández in tow, relocated to Washington, D.C. to become the Washington Nationals. Hernández started and won the first major league game in Washington since 1971, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 5–3 on April 14, 2005. In 2005, Hernández would once again lead the National League in innings pitched, as well as earn his second All-Star selection; along with reliever Chad Cordero, he was the first All-Star in the new Nationals' history. After the 2005 season, Hernández had knee surgery, and his performance in the first half of 2006 suffered. At the All-Star break, he had a 5.64 ERA, and opposing batters had been batting .308 against him. But over his last five starts with the Nationals, he had a 3.27 ERA with four walks and 23 strikeouts.
