José Hernández

Who is José Hernández?

José Antonio Hernández Figueroa is a former Major League Baseball infielder.

In a 15-season career, Hernández had a .254 batting average with 159 home runs and 563 RBI in 1408 games. He was an 2002 All-Star Game reserve, and a member of the 1999 National League Champion Atlanta Braves. He is the cousin of Luis Figueroa.

Primarily a shortstop, Hernández played every position except pitcher. His most productive season came in 2001 with Milwaukee, when he posted career highs in home runs, RBI, hits, doubles and games. Despite his .249 average, he posted a .356 on-base percentage.

In 2002, Hernandez struck out 188 times, one shy of the MLB record. Then-Brewers manager Jerry Royster kept him out of the lineup in four of the last five games of the season so he would not break the dubious record. He led the majors in highest strikeout percentage.

In 2002, Hernández hit 24 home runs with 73 RBI and a career-high .288 average. He spent the entire 2004 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a utility role, hitting .289 with 12 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs and 29 RBI in 95 games for the National League West champions.