By Joe Roderick. Times Staff Writer.
Contra Costa Times. Published
Monday, April 2, 2001
SAN FRANCISCO -- With the stands packed and the stadium adorned with red,
white and blue bunting for Opening Day, some pitchers might have trouble keeping
their stomach from doing somersaults.
Whether it's the young hotshot or crusty veteran, there's nothing like
throwing the first pitch of a new season.
It's not for everyone, though.
And then there's Livan Hernandez, who lives for such moments, one reason why
he's the obvious choice to start for the Giants today against the San Diego
Padres at Pacific Bell Park. Although only 26 and entering his fifth full
major-league season, Hernandez has a résumé filled with big games
and bigger moments.
Kicking off the season for the defending National League West champions
won't make Hernandez weak at the knees when you consider he owns a World Series
MVP trophy and a 4-0 postseason record. (He and his half-brother, Orlando
Hernandez of the New York Yankees, were a combined 13-0 in postseason before El
Duque lost Game 3 to the New York Mets last October.)
"Livan is a big game guy," said Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder
Gary Sheffield, who watched Hernandez make the '97 postseason his stage with the
Florida Marlins. "Just being around him in the clubhouse during the World
Series -- it was like it wasn't a big game at all the way he approached it. To
him, it was just another game. He handled that atmosphere and pressure as easily
as anyone in that clubhouse."
Said Hernandez: "I don't feel the pressure now. I like the playoffs.
The playoffs is like a competition. You need to stay ready. I talked to my
brother about it. He likes it, too."
Hernandez went 2-0 and was named MVP in the '97 NL Championship Series,
which included a 15-strikeout performance against the Atlanta Braves in Game 5
when he was pitching on two days' rest. He also went 2-0 in the World Series
against the Cleveland Indians.
"He has a lot of poise out there," said Charles Johnson,
Hernandez's former catcher who is back with the Marlins this season. "He's
one of those guys that, mentality-wise, he's very loose. He's not very
excitable. He keeps his cool and stays relaxed while he pitches."
Hernandez had those traits long before he made his big-league debut in 1996.
He honed them as a teen-ager with the Cuban Junior National team and later with
the Cuban National team. Hernandez recalled winning championship games for the
junior team in 1992 and '93, and beating the United States at the World
University Games in '95, his last game with Cuba before defecting Sept. 27 in
Monterrey, Mexico.
Hernandez said there are unspoken responsibilities playing for Cuba's elite
team. If you don't perform, you might not be invited back, which means a harsher
way of life in the civilian world.
"When you play in Cuba, you need to win," he said. "There's a
lot of pressure. You need to win because of (Fidel) Castro. This is true. You
need to play hard, hard. When you come back to Cuba (from abroad) and you don't
win, maybe you're in trouble, the coach is in trouble and the manager is in
trouble. A lot of people close to Fidel, they say things. Maybe the coach is
gone next year if you don't win."
Sheffield said Hernandez's background made him the pitcher he is today, a
stark contrast to a player who learns his trade working his way up the minor
leagues.
"What he went through in Cuba, that's real life," Sheffield said. "To
come over here and win a big game, that's got to be pretty minor from a mental
standpoint, and that's three-quarters of this game. We all know, or we all have
heard how tough it is to grow up in Cuba. Unless you go through it, you never
know. But when you're basically a prisoner in your own country, it puts
everything in perspective. I wouldn't put it all on that because he is a tough
guy mentally. But to not know if your mother is going to be OK or if you family
is going to be OK because you left the country, that's pressure."
Hernandez has not been jaded by his comfortable way of life in the U.S.
Although he signed a $3.9 million contract with the Marlins and will make $2.35
million this season, his humble way of life in his native country is still fresh
in his mind and provides every-day motivation.
"Baseball is Cuba is a little hard," he said. "Everybody
plays hard. You like the competition. In Cuba I play hard and I got nothing. I
got one spike or two spikes, one glove. You know the situation is hard. You come
here and you've got everything and you've got to play harder. I've got
everything I need here." | 