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June 20, 2012

Punk Hits

League Average, the Long Way 'Round

by Ian Miller

On Friday, June 15, the Braves released Livan Hernandez. Although Hernandez picked up a save in May—the first of his 17-year career—the Braves thought his roster spot could be better used by Kris Medlen. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez was quoted as saying, “There may be some other teams looking for a veteran guy, and I hope so. He still wants to pitch.”

While not impossible, it seems unlikely that a team will take a flyer on Livan at this stage. In the event that we’ve seen the last of Livan pitching in MLB, what follows is my eulogy for his big-league career. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was always entertaining.

A Baseball Prospectus membership grants us access to many amazing things. I don’t think I could pick a favorite aspect of the site, but, if pressed, I might choose the BP Annual player comments on the player cards. They’re a great way to get insight into a player’s career, to see how his stock has risen and fallen over the years. They’re not a perfect survey or anything—they comprise the opinions of a few (admittedly very smart and knowledgeable) people about a player at the beginning of each season—but they can be very enlightening.

In the case of Livan Hernandez, the player comments are a crazy thrill-ride of hilarity. I just read them all (save for the 2003 and 2004 entries, which are missing from our database). I laughed, I cried, they were better than Cats.

1997: “Has a classic pitcher’s build and by the turn of the century he should one of baseball’s best right-handers. Think Alex Fernandez.”

1999: “Maybe accepting the power of prayer and lighting a candle for St. Jobe (patron saint of successful surgeries) will let him have a career. If Boles is creative, he could put Hernandez in the pen, but that may just be delaying the inevitable.”