Three-time All-Star and 1984 World Series champion Willie Hernandez has passed away at the age of 69 after a yearslong battle with a heart condition, per a report from La Primera Hora — a newspaper in Hernandez’s native Puerto Rico. The former American League MVP and Cy Young winner (both in a standout ’84 campaign) had been dealing with heart troubles for around 15 years, his wife tells La Primera Hora. Hernandez himself told Matt Schoh of the Detroit News back in 2019, after throwing out the first pitch during the Tigers’ season opener, that he nearly died in 2007 while having a pacemaker installed in his heart.
Hernandez is one of just 10 pitchers to ever capture both a Cy Young Award and an MVP in the same season — and one of just three relievers to accomplish that feat (joining Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley). The lefty’s 1984 campaign was indeed sensational; Hernandez led the Majors in both appearances (80) and games finished (68) while piling up a hefty 140 1/3 innings of relief. He saved 32 games that season and pitched to a pristine 1.92 ERA. He’d go on to add another 9 1/3 innings of 1.93 ERA ball in the postseason, including a pair of saves during a World Series that the Tigers won over the Padres.
That ’84 season kicked off a run of three consecutive All-Star appearances for Hernandez and was just one of many brilliant seasons over the life of a 13-year big league career. Hernandez made his MLB debut with the Cubs as a 22-year-old back in 1977, pitching to a terrific 3.03 ERA in 110 innings. He’d ultimately spend six-plus season in a Cubs uniform, pitching to a collective 3.81 ERA in that time.
Chicago traded Hernandez to the Phillies in May of 1983, and Hernandez delivered 95 2/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball for the Phils en route to a World Series appearance. Philadelphia fell short to the Orioles in the ’83 Fall Classic, but that wasn’t due to any fault of Hernandez, who fired four shutout frames with four strikeouts during the series.
The Phillies traded Hernandez to the Tigers the following spring, and he went on to spend six seasons in Detroit, where he worked to a collective 2.98 ERA thanks in large part to his often unhittable screwball. His time with the Tigers included the vast majority of his career highlights: all three All-Star appearances, the Cy Young and MVP nods, and of course, the 1984 World Series championship. Elbow troubles in his age-34 season ultimately put an end to Hernandez’s pitching career.
All in all, Hernandez appeared in 744 Major League games, pitching to a lifetime 3.38 ERA with a 70-63 record, 147 saves and 788 strikeouts in 1044 2/3 innings. His postseason work tacks on another 13 2/3 frames of 1.32 ERA ball and three more saves. We at MLBTR express our condolences to Hernandez’s family, friends, former teammates and fans.
Awful RIP
140+ innings in relief? Wow! I remember 84 but didn’t realize how many innings he threw. RIP.
He and Senor Smoke pitched a ton that year.
And Aurelio Lopez pitched 137.2 innings for Detroit that year in a setup role. They were a helluva pair.
Best 8/9 inning combo in Tiger history.
At least, my lifetime.
Had a really good career.
Yeah, the man could pitch. 69 too early. RIP.
Lived a great life and had a great career, but 69 is still pretty young. Condolences to the family and Tigers fans. RIP
A bit before my time, RIP.
BTW On iPhone, with the app this is a weird picture, the man’s head is cut off and there is a close up of his torso and crotch.
Ahhh, thanks for pointing that out. I knew the dimensions were a bit wider-scale than our typical images for the app. I should’ve cropped it a bit before adding it to the post. I’ve done so now, and the change should render momentarily. Appreciate you making that note.
Most valuable Willie . Well aside from Horton
Ahem… Mays!!
140 IP as a closer. Aurelio Rodriguez.(Señor Smoke) put up 100+ that season too. Boss level back end
The 84 Tigers also scored a lot of 1st and 2nd inning runs, so starters often had leads to work with. Then they only needed to go 6 or 7 innings and Smoke and Willie would close it down. Great season!
We thought it was just the beginning, too, until the petering out in ’87 and closing of the purse strings in ’88. Our guy becoming the other league’s MVP and winning a WS with another team, the beginning of a long, tedious period of Tigers baseball. Next year it will be FORTY years since the title, something we never would have guessed in 1984, or ’87 for that matter.
Aurelio López was Señor Smoke. Aurelio Rodriguez was a Tigers infielder.
And Aurelio Monteagudo played for the Royals. And all three Aurelios (the only 3 in MLB history) died between the ages of 44 and 52 in car-related incidents.
Both Aurelios had all the vowels of the alphabet in their 1st names.
Always was a fan of his sorry to hear of this. My thoughts are with anyone who loved him
RIP Willie…..
One of those guys that sat behind Sutter and became the best in the business for a while
RIP…remember that 1984 season well
The Tigers started 1984 at 35-5 then coasted to a division championship.
Dang, too young. Great pitcher, well remembered here. Sparky has a new bullpen piece upstairs. RIP.
RIP Guillermo “Willie” Hernandez.
One of the best relievers from Puerto Rico. He’s the only Puerto Rican to win both the Cy Young and MVP awards.
Rest in peace. One of my favorite players growing up…
That 1984 team was awesome. Three postseasons in five years and one ring for Willie. RIP.
140+ innings in 80 appearances. For context, the great Josh Hader threw 56+ in 61 games last season.
More context: Blake Snell threw less than 40 more innings in only 32 games, also won a Cy.
Bring back the two inning relievers!
At the time, one of the best seasons. 35-5 start. Start to finish in first place. Willie converted every save opportunity except for last game. As I recall.
RIP Willie! 1984 was a magical year for the Tigers and Willie had one of the best seasons ever for a reliever. You will be missed.
Big Game Willie RIP. Another one the Cubs gave away. That 84 season he was untouchable.
That 84 team was ťhe culmination of 5 years of being a devout Tigers fan in SoCal. I was a freshman in HS that year and told all my friends we would win the series. Willie was lights out, putting up numbers that season that are as good as any reliever would ever put up in that era. RIP Willie and thank you for what you helped accomplish.
August 28th 1986., two strikes, DicknSchofield. Every Angel fan on the planet knows what’s next?
That’s the nature of baseball
RIP.
This really makes me feel old when the players I watched as a kid pass away.
RIP
My Condolence to his family. I remember him well, as I have been a Detroit Tigers Fan my whole life, & I am 65.
Rip I remember him with the cubs
He will forever remain an iconic Tiger for 1984. MVP. Top shelf screwball. So sorry to hear of his passing. RIP Guillermo
Always felt that the 1984 Cubs could have REALLY benefited had he not been traded in ’83.
I thought he changed his name to Guillermo. Or, changed it back.
For a couple of seasons he did ask to be called Guillermo instead of Willie, but I think he eventually stopped correcting people.
Yeah, he was struggling in 1987 and suddenly started insisting that he wanted to be called by his given name (he said Willie was a boy’s name). It didn’t go over that well in the media.
No!!! Damn!! RIP to a great man
That 84 Tigers team was magical and a treat to follow. Hernandez was one of the best of that era as a closer, but also thrived in other roles throughout his career. And he sported one impressive mustache to boot.
Him along with Senior Smoke (A.Rodrigez) formed one of the absolute best RH/LH tandems out of a bullpen all time! That screwball was one of the best out pitches of all time. I knew he had been having heart issues these past few years but didn’t know they were that bad. So sad, but let’s get him into the HOF, even if it’s posthumously.
No. He was a fine player, and one of my favorites, but definitely not HOF material… Not even close.
You meant A. Lopez.
Sad.
Willy had an unhittable screwball in ’84.
Remember when they called it a “screwball”?
The best.
Great Pitcher, RIP
I remember he pitched in a wild game in 1979 at Wrigley field against the Phillies that I believe ended in a Philles win of 23 to 22. He also hit a triple in that game. RIP Willie, and prayers to his loved ones.
Condolences. Always remember Willie and the 84 Tigers.
RIP
The Phillies made an excellent trade in May 1983 acquiring Willie Hernandez and an atrocious trade in March 1984, sending him to Detroit for John Wockenfuss and Glenn Wilson.
The Mike Schmidt-era Phillies were starting to circle the drain at that time, and that trade might have been the finishing touch.
RIP, Willie (Guillermo), you were the best Tiger closer of my lifetime. You made 1984, truly magical !!
RIP
The 84 Tigers also used Doug Bain and traded for Bill Scherer. They used Dave Rozema in long relief and spot starts.
Doug Bair