Like so many youngsters who grew up in the baseball-loving Dominican Republic, Fabian Hernandez has long dreamed of becoming a major league baseball player.
To achieve that dream, the 5-foot-11 left-handed pitcher left his family and his native country to attend college and play ball at Western Oklahoma State College where he has put up some solid numbers.
Now his path has taken him to Louisiana where Hernandez is a first-year pitcher for the Baton Rouge Rougarou. And he certainly is making his presence felt.
Hernandez is currently the top pitcher in the Texas Collegiate League, with a 0.00 earned run average. He has pitched 17.2 innings, giving up eight hits, walking two and striking out 13.
He was the Opening Day starter on May 30 and has thrown a couple of innings in relief, earning two saves. But his most impressive outing came on June 14 against the Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators in Hernandez pitched a complete game shutout, facing the minimum number of batters in a 9-inning game. He threw only 74 pitches in the game, only reaching a 2-0 count one time. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out six. The defense played well behind him too, turning three double-plays and throwing out two batters on the bases.
“The only thing going through (my) head was winning,” Hernandez said through an interpreter. “I just wanted to win.”
But Hernandez wasn’t happy with his teammates’ performances at the plate.
“The ones that were batting were not helping,” he said. “Just like the leader I am everywhere I go, I gathered everyone and told them I want to win. In order to do that, they needed to help him with batting and he would continue to do well pitching.”
Whatever he said worked. The Rougarou went on to take a 1-0 walkoff win. But Hernandez was the talk of the league where compete games are a rarity.
“He was very special that night,” Rougarou coach James Dillard said. “And he had to be in order for us to win that ballgame. (It) was pretty special to watch.”
Said team owner Ronnie Rantz: “I think that was the greatest Texas Collegiate League performance ever.”
And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Despite his limited English, Hernandez has become a team favorite, especially among kids.
“Fabian has had a breakout summer so far, not only on the mound but also in the clubhouse,” Dillard said. “He is our fountain of energy, always rooting for his new teammates and encouraging the other pitchers on our staff.”
He also is serious about his baseball.
“The reason Fabian has been so successful this summer is that he attacks and commands the strike zone, and he does this with all his pitches,” Dillard said. “Fabian will not light up the radar gun, but he knows how to pitch and how to keep hitters off balance.”
There is another reason Hernandez is focused on succeeding. He didn’t just dream of playing in the major leagues one day, it was Hernandez’ dream to do so alongside his older brother Yordano Ventura, who was a pitcher for the Kansas City Royals for four seasons, helping the team to win the 2015 World Series.
On January 22, 2017, the 25-year old Ventura was killed in a car crash back home in the Dominican Republic.
“He was my inspiration ever since I was little and the reason I started playing baseball,” Hernandez said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t even be here. I promised him that one day we would play together in Kansas City but God took him away. I have to keep going and push through and play well for him.”
By Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer