If they weren’t baseball players, there’s no way that Scott Brosius and Orlando Hernandez ever would have met. The New York Yankees brought them together nearly two years ago and they have played starring roles in New York’s postseason dominance.
One grew up in Oregon. The other in Cuba.
One was an international star whose career almost was ended by politics. The other was a working man’s player whose career was threatened by a lack of performance.
Hernandez, the Cuban legend known as “El Duque,” and Brosius were available for every team in the big leagues in the winter of 1997-98. Yet it was Yankees’ executives such as Brian Cashman and Mark Newman, who had gone to the ’96 World Series behind young stars Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Mariano Rivera, who had the best appreciation for the potential of Brosius and Hernandez.
They did what it took to get the two and the Yankees have gone 22-3 in postseason games with them. When the Yankees fell behind Cleveland in the 1998 American League Championship Series two games to one, it was Hernandez who got them out of their hole. This year Hernandez (3-0, 1.20 earned-run average in four starts) and Brosius (.250, two homers, five RBIs in 12 games) made sure New York never trailed in any of its three playoff series.
There were questions throughout baseball about Hernandez’s potential and his effectiveness. He hadn’t pitched for more than a year because of a ban imposed by Fidel Castro’s government, which reportedly was angry because his half-brother, Livan, had fled Cuba.
Hernandez spent a year working for $10 per month as a physical therapist at a mental hospital after his younger brother defected. He was forced to work out away from government view, keeping his right arm ready for the chance to pitch again. He became the subject of a bidding war after establishing residence in Costa Rica, turning down an offer from the Disney-owned Anaheim Angels that reportedly included movie rights to sign a four-year deal with the Yankees.
The Yankees gambled $6.6 million that the toughness the elder Hernandez showed in his flight from Cuba would help him recapture the mystique he had a few years earlier. He was one of the aces of the national team that won more than 150 consecutive games in international competition before losing to Japan in 1997.
“He is a very, very tough competitor,” said Newman, a Yankees vice president. “He has his head screwed on right.”
When Hernandez signed, he said he had “always dreamed about the New York Yankees. For me to be able to wear this uniform, for me it’s the maximum.”
Newman vowed the Yankees would not rush Hernandez. Yet it took only nine minor-league starts before he was promoted. He stunned even the Yankees by going 6-0 with 59 strikeouts in 42 1/3 innings at Class AAA Columbus.
While getting acclimated to New York, Hernandez went 14-4 in his rookie season, including a victory in the ALCS and the World Series. His eventful year was capped in the winter when his wife, Norris Bosch, and other members of his family were allowed to move from Cuba to join him.
Hernandez won 20 games in his second season, including three in the playoffs. There were times when he wasn’t as impressive as in his rookie year, as evidenced by his ERA rising to 4.12 from 3.13. But for the second straight year, he laughed at the pressure others feel playing in the postseason.
Hernandez says the biggest game of his life was “getting on that boat to leave Cuba.” Everything in baseball does seem like child’s play compared to Hernandez’s life experiences.
This time around Hernandez was picked over five-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens to serve as the Yankees’ No. 1 starter in the playoffs. He didn’t let manager Joe Torre down, working at least seven innings in all four starts without allowing more than two earned runs in any of them.
Hernandez set the tone in playoff series against Texas, Boston and Atlanta. In the World Series opener against the Braves, he gave up one hit (a Chipper Jones homer) while striking out 10 in seven innings. Quietly, “El Duque’s” high leg kick has become the signature of the Yankees.
“He continues to just make you shake your head,” Torre said.
Brosius, 33, came to the Yankees in a trade for Kenny Rogers after batting only .203 in 1997. He has filled Torre’s need for a third baseman better than anyone could have imagined when the deal was made.
Brosius basically ran the table in 1998, getting selected for the All-Star team and then earning MVP honors in the World Series. He hit .471 with two homers in the Yankees’ sweep over San Diego.
When the year was over, Brosius was rewarded with a three-year, $15.75 million contract. The low-key Brosius has been at peace amid the chaos of New York.
“I love to play in New York,” Brosius said. “When the trade happened, I thought, `Oh, boy, I’ve got to spend six months in New York.’ It’s not a very comfortable place to come as a visiting player. But everything you hate about New York as a visitor, you love as a home player. (My family stays) outside the city, up north, and that’s as much like Oregon as any place I’ve played, even California.”
Brosius embodies the blue-collar nature of the Yankees. He hardly ever seems to get noticed, yet he gives Torre both the best No. 9 hitter in the major leagues and a reliable fielder at third base. His 5 for 9 start at the plate this year helped the Yankees take charge. His backhand play to start a double play Wednesday night helped Clemens finish off the Atlanta sweep.
Small plays. Big wins. It’s a 1-2 punch that works for the Yankees.
