Baseball Catcher Carlos Hernandez

		Carlos Hernandez
		Full Name: Carlos Alberto (Almeida) Hernandez Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5'11" Weight: 185 lbs. Born: May 24, 1967 in San Felix, Venezuela Major League Debut: Apr 20, 1990	PHOTO GALLERY

BATTING
YR 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996	TM LA LA LA LA LA LA LA	LG NL NL NL NL NL NL NL	POS C C C C C C C	G 10 15 69 50 32 45 13	AB 20 14 173 99 64 94 14	R 2 1 11 6 6 3 1	H 4 3 45 25 14 14 4	2B 1 1 4 5 2 1 0	3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	HR 0 0 3 2 2 2 0	RBI 1 1 17 7 6 8 0	TB 5 4 58 36 22 21 4	BB 0 0 11 2 1 7 2	IBB 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Totals				G 234	AB 478	R 30	H 109	2B 14	3B 0	HR 9	RBI 40	TB 150	BB 23	IBB 1

BATTING								BASERUNNING			PERCENTAGES
YR 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996	TM LA LA LA LA LA LA LA	LG NL NL NL NL NL NL NL	K 2 5 21 11 14 25 2	HBP 0 1 4 0 0 1 0	SH 0 0 0 1 0 1 0	SF 0 1 2 0 0 0 0	GDP 0 2 8 0 0 5 0	SB 0 1 0 0 0 0 0	CS 0 0 1 0 0 0 0	SB% -.--- 1.000 .000 -.--- -.--- -.--- -.---	AVG .200 .214 .260 .253 .219 .149 .286	OBP .200 .250 .316 .267 .231 .216 .375	SLG .250 .286 .335 .364 .344 .223 .286	AB/HR --.- --.- 57.7 49.5 32.0 47.0 --.-	AB/K 10.0 2.8 8.2 9.0 4.6 3.8 7.0
Totals			K 80	HBP 6	SH 2	SF 3	GDP 15	SB 1	CS 1	SB% .500	BAVG .228	OBP .271	SLG .314	AB/HR 53.1	AB/K 6.0

TEAM ABBREVIATION KEY
YEARS 1990-1996	TM LA	LG NL	TEAM NAME Los Angeles Dodgers	LEAGUE NAME National League

Career Notes

1997 Season
Despite missing a month with a calf strain, Carlos Hernandez had a solid season as the Padres' backup catcher. He had a career- high .313 batting average raising his career mark to .247and logged more at-bats than he had since 1992.

1995
Made 22 starts at catcher for the Dodgers and was 10-for-69 (.145) with a home run and five RBI in those games ... He caught in 40 games this season ... Has thrown out 11 of 23 runners attempting to steal this season (48%).

1994
Made 14 starts at catcher ... Hit .303 at Dodger Stadium ... Owned the Mets' Jose Vizcaino throwing him out each of his three attempts against the Dodgers in 1994 ... Had nine of his 14 hits vs. left-handers.

1993
Spent the season as Mike Piazza's understudy at catcher, appearing in 50 games, including 21 starts ... Threw out six of 27 runners attempting to steal (22 percent) ... Hit just .190 (4-21) with runners in scoring position.

1992
Made 47 starts in his first full major league season and hit .283 in those contests ... Had three hits in a game twice ... Put together a career-high eight-game hitting streak July 29-Aug. 10, batting .440 (11-25) with two homers and eight RBI ... Hit his first major league home run July 18, off Philadelphia's Kyle Abbott.

1991
Starred at Albuquerque (AAA), earning some major league action in June and July.

1990
Went 1-for-3 as Los Angeles' starting catcher against Houston in his major league debut April 20 ... First hit was a double off Jim Deshaies in his second at-bat ... Became the second Venezuelan catcher in major league history, following Bo Diaz.

1984
Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent to a minor-league contract on Oct. 10, 1984.

Hitting, Baserunning & Defense
Hernandez won't scare anyone with his power, but he occasionally will get a fastball he can pull out of the park. He never has been a good breaking-ball hitter and rarely walks. He showed improvement in hitting more balls where they were pitched, rather than constantly trying to pull the ball. Hernandez doesn't run well, especially after serious back problems a few years ago. He's a solid receiver with a strong arm and a quick release, and he threw out 37 percent of basestealers in 1997.

1998 Outlook
Hernandez is physically able to play only once or twice a week, which is all the Padres need. He's a solid backup who accepts his role and is especially good at shutting down opposing running games, attributes which should continue to find him work. He became a free after the season, but the Padres quickly re-signed him.