Who

Hernandez is the Cuban-born pitcher known as El Duque. A former Yankees standout, he now pitches for the New York Mets.

Backstory

Born in Cuba—his father was a baseball player nicknamed "El Duque," a moniker Hernandez would later take as his own—Hernandez starred for the country's national team in the early 1990s, helping to win the 1992 Olympic gold medal. He compiled a lifetime record of 129-47—the best ever in the Cuban baseball league—but after his half-brother (and fellow pitcher) Livan defected to the U.S. in 1995, the Cuban authorities banned El Duque from baseball in 1996. He spent time working in a psychiatric facility for $8.75 a month, then defected himself in December 1997, sailing off the island with his common-law wife and a few others in a rickety boat. Stranded on an uninhabited island for several days, they subsisted on Spam before being found by the Coast Guard and taken to the Bahamas. Nearly deported back to Cuba, El Duque and his family were eventually granted humanitarian visas. Two months later, he'd signed a four-year, $6.6 million contract with the Yankees. Hernandez remained with the team until 2004. After playing with the Chicago White Sox for a year and then spending several months with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he returned to New York when he was traded to the Mets.

On the job

Relying on deception rather than overwhelming power, his trademarks on the mound are his high leg kick and his dizzying array of pitches and deliveries. The peak of his career came during the Yankees World Series three-peat from 1998-2000, when he racked up a 41-26 record during the regular season and was chosen as the MVP of the 1999 American League Championship Series. Now in the twilight of his career, he has come to rely more and more on smarts and control to get hitters out, and many expect him to retire after the 2008 season upon completion of his two-year, $12 million Mets contract.

Controversy

In 1999, a divorce document filed by his first wife in Cuba claimed that El Duque was born in 1965, not in 1969 as he had claimed. This made him 32 at the time of his rookie year in America and devalued his stock quite a bit among potential MLB suitors. He has nevertheless quieted some detractors by remaining effective into his 40s.

Personal

Hernandez is married to Norris Bosch, with whom he came over from Cuba. They have two young children, and live in Central Islip on Long Island. He also has two teenage daughters from his first marriage; they remained in Cuba when he defected, but immigrated to the U.S. in 1998.