About Willie Hernández
Guillermo "Willie" Hernández Villanueva (November 14, 1954 – November 20, 2023) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He won both the American League Cy Young Award and the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1984 after leading the Detroit Tigers to the World Series championship. Hernández was born and raised in Aguada, Puerto Rico. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1973 and played in their minor-league system as a starting pitcher from 1974 to 1976. He was acquired by the Chicago Cubs in the 1976 Rule 5 Draft and played for the Cubs, principally as a relief pitcher, from 1977 to 1983. His performance improved markedly after adding a screwball and cut fastball to his pitching repertoire. He was traded to the Phillies in May 1983, helped lead them to the National League pennant, and appeared in three games in the 1983 World Series, giving up zero hits and zero runs in three games. In March 1984, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers. As the Tigers' closer in 1984, he compiled a 9–3 win–loss record with 32 saves and a 1.92 earned run average (ERA). He helped lead the Tigers to the 1984 World Series championship and became only the third player in major-league history (following Sandy Koufax and Denny McLain) to win the Cy Young Award, MVP Award, and World Series title, all in the same season. Hernández continued to pitch for the Tigers through the 1989 season. In 13 major-league seasons, he appeared in 744 games, 733 as a relief pitcher and 11 as a starter, and compiled a win–loss record of 70–63 with a 3.38 ERA, 788 strikeouts, and 147 saves. After his playing career ended, he returned to Puerto Rico, where he operated a construction business and later owned a cattle ranch. He appeared in 16 games, all as a starter, and compiled an 11–11 win–loss record with a 2.75 earned run average (ERA), and 13 complete games.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.