Tony Fernandez - by Moses

      Former Baseball great Tony Fernandez has passed on at the age of 57 due to kidney failure.  Starting out in the sandlots in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, Fernandez (like many other Dominican kids of the early eighties) literally swung themselves off the island and into the Major Leagues.  Alongside Alfredo Griffin, Julio Franco, Rafael Ramirez, Manuel Lee, and Mariano Duncan, Fernandez led an influx of shortstops that were born in San Pedro de Macoris into the Majors.  In fact most would suffice that they led the way alongside American superstar equivalents Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken Jr. Alan Trammell, Robin Yount, Barry Larkin, and, at the very least Tony Fernandez and Julio Franco were on par.          

  Tony Fernandez entered the Major Leagues in 1983 as a promising shortstop in the Toronto Blue Jays chain.  The Jays had fellow Dominican defensive guru Alfredo Griffin in place but had no choice but to trade him to accommodate Fernandez' immense talent.  In the off-season leading into 1985, Pat Gillick (the Jays General Manager) dealt Griffin alongside Dave Collins for closer Dave Caudill.  Tony became one of our team leaders in his first full year in the 'bigs, leading our Jays into the playoffs for the first time in team history.  For what many called the centerpiece of the equation, in my estimation it was Fernandez that was the glue of a near dynasty.  It was Alfredo Griffin who was given the Gold Glove Award in that year of 1985, however, many baseball insiders considered Fernandez to be the best defensive shortstop in the American League that year.  A purest mentality of rewarding a talent like that of Griffin (although the torch had been passed).  Fernandez was the best defensive shortstop in baseball from 1985-1989, winning the Gold Glove Award four years in a row from 1986-1989.  In fact he was the best shortstop in baseball over those years even with Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell, and Cal Ripken Jr. in the equation.  Fernandez was simply dominant defensively, culminated by his campaign of 1989 in which he established the record of .992 Fielding % committing only six errors through the year.  Although Cal Ripken Jr, set the record the following year with a mark of .996, he simply didn't have Fernandez range.  In baseball in the eighties, only Ozzie Smith could rival Fernandez defensively when it came to range.  In fact Fernandez had a better arm than Ozzie and was also a better bat over his career.  Offensively in the eighties and nineties, only Cal Ripken Jr. could provide a higher OPS.  At that, Fernandez was a better basestealer (as evidenced by his 246 lifetime stolen bases) and he struck out less than Ripken (20 times less a year on average)  

  In that year of 1985, alongside Damaso Garcia, George Bell, Jesse Barfield, Lloyd Moseby, Rance Mulliniks, Ernie Whitt, Willie Upshaw, Al Oliver, Dave Stieb, Jimmy Key, Doyle Alexander, Tom Henke, and the rest of a dominating pitching staff, the Jays set their team record for wins in a season with 99.  It was Tony Fernandez' defence that had scouts drooling, and he could hit (evidenced by his 1985 numbers of .289 Batting Average and .730 OPS).  He proved clutch and aside from the heroics of George Brett our Jays would have made the World Series that year.  In 1986 Tony had a whopping 213 base-hits to set the single season record for hits by a shortstop (a mark that stood until 1999, when one Derek Jeter bettered the mark with 219 hits). When Fernandez went down in 1987 alongside Ernie Whitt, the Jays lost their last seven games of the year to lose out to the surging Detroit Tigers.  In 1989 the Jays won the American League East for the second time in their history.  Fernandez was a standout in the Post Season in both the ALCS Series of 1985 and 1989 batting .333 in 1985 and .350 in the 1989 post-seasons.  In fact Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff were somewhat scapegoated by Pat Gillick and traded to the San Diego Padres for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter in the 1990-1991 off-season.  With the addition of Devon White the Jays went over the top capturing their first World Series Title in 1992 against the Atlanta Braves with a new nucleus.  The following year of 1993 saw the acquisition of Fernandez and he had his best season of his career neigh 1987, batting .306 in T-Dot that year with an OPS of .803 and a .985 Fielding % again at the shortstop position.  To repeat the Jays entered the post-season as A.L East Champs and met up with the ChiSox.  We won in six with Tony doing his part batting .318 in that series.  In the World Series against Philly Fernandez had success again batting .333 with a gaudy nine RBI's (to set the record for shortstops in a World Series).

  Tony moved to Cincy in 1994 and played a year at third with the Reds.  He made an incredibly low two errors all season at the hot corner posting a record .991 Fielding % over 93 Games (87 games started).  The following year the Yanks came calling and Fernandez moved back to shortstop and helped guide them to the post-season (his post-season batting average of .238 being an anomaly of his usual post-season prowess).  He moved to the Cleveland Indians in 1997 (after sitting out the 1996 season due to injury), and moved to second base having another standout season batting .286 with a .746 OPS (which is almost precisely what Fernandez' career numbers show offensively).  Defensively Fernandez performed admirably at second, posting a fielding % of .980, and in the playoffs that year with the Indians he shone during the ALCS and World Series batting .357 and .471 respectively.  When we look at Tony's post-season numbers we see, with awe, the level at which he competed when he played; posting a .327 batting average with a .787 OPS over eight playoff series.  

  Although Tony Fernandez didn't have an opportunity to play again in the post-season he did have much more success in the 'bigs and returned to T-Dot for a third time in 1998, this time returning to third base and playing some second.  He defied logic and raised his OPS to .846 batting .321 along the way.  The following year of 1999 Fernandez upped both marks to an average of .328 and an OPS of .877 steadying himself at third base.  In fact, Fernandez had a fourth tenure in Toronto in 2001, and after missing the 2000 season he came back to the game with the Milwaukee Brewers.  T-Dot took him back just before the trade deadline to close out a Hall of Fame career in Toronto.  Finishing his career with a lifetime batting average of .288 along with 2276 base-hits, a lifetime OPS of .746, with a World Series Ring, Fernandez deserves to be included in Cooperstown.  Fourteen seasons at shortstop with a Fielding % of .980, two full seasons at third-base with a mark of .962, and one and a half years at second-base with a mark of .979 makes Fernandez the most versatile ballplayer of all-time, neigh one Jackie Robinson (and Babe Ruth if he were to have gotten the start on the hill).  

  When I went to New York City in 1985 my Cousin Brian Kaufman took my family to Yankee Stadium to see the Jays play the Yanks for games two through four of a four game set.  Fernandez was at shortstop and Don Baylor was up for the Yanks, Fernandez went deep in the hole to range behind third base and threw out Baylor (a former 50 basestealer) by half a step.  I maintain to this day that no other shortstop in the history of the game could make that play but Tony Fernandez.  

  It is a sad day in baseball with the loss of Tony.  He was a great spokesman for the game of baseball, hearts saddened in Toronto.  I still remember him signing my autograph book in Spring Training in Dunedin, Florida and his friendly manner.  He was truly a class act.

Rest in peace Antonio Octavio Fernandez