(Detroit CBS) – Willie Hernández, a former pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and the 1984 World Series winner, passed away, the team said on Tuesday. He was sixty-nine.
Hernández, a relief pitcher, won the AL Cy Young Award and was named the 1984 American League MVP. Before joining the Philadelphia Phillies in 1983 and the Tigers in 1984, he made his Major League Baseball debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1977.
After finishing his MLB career with the Tigers in 1989, Hernández was a three-time All-Star with 147 saves, a 70-63 win-loss record, 788 strikeouts, and a 3.39 ERA.
The Detroit Tigers confirmed Hernández’s passing in a statement on Tuesday:
“The news of Willie Hernández’s demise has the Tigers inconsolable. Thirteen years of Major League experience, with his last six seasons played with the Olde English ‘D’, Hernandez was a vital component of the Tigers’ 1984 World Series winning squad, winning both the Cy Young Award and American League MVP titles. During his six seasons in Detroit, he was also chosen for three AL All-Star teams. Our sympathies are with the friends, teammates, and family of Hernández.”
The following was published by Alan Trammell, Special Assistant to the President of Baseball Operations for the Tigers:
“I’m really sorry to learn of the demise of Willie Hernández, who was a wonderful comrade. The team’s jubilation on the mound following his final out of the 1984 World Series is something I will never forget. His title as a World Series winner will go on indefinitely. I’m praying and thinking about this family.