House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves’ New Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez

By Alan Carpenter

Oct 1, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Miami Marlins pitching coach Chuck Hernandez (55) comes out to talk with starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (16) during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Miami Marlins pitching coach Chuck Hernandez (55) comes out to talk with starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (16) during the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next
Feb 25, 2015; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins pitching coach Chuck Hernandez (55) poses during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 25, 2015; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins pitching coach Chuck Hernandez (55) poses during photo day at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Almost lost in the news about the hirings of Brian Snitker and Ron Washington is that the Braves also named a replacement for Roger McDowell.  It’s time we got to know him a bit.

His full name is Carlo Amado Hernandez… but we will know him as “Chuck”.

In another month, Chuck Hernandez will have turned 56 years old, and he becomes only the third Pitching Coach for the Atlanta Braves since 1990 when Leo Mazzone got the job after having already been in the organization for 11 years prior.  If you’d like to probe further, Bruce Dal Canton was Mazzone’s predecessor (1987-1990).

Thus it has been a 30 year span for just 3 coaches – and some mighty large cleats for Hernandez to fill.

Just for reference, the Miami Marlins have turnstiled 15 different managers with 17 different hirings over the 24 years of their existence.

Long Resume, Short Housing Leases

While his resume of service in the majors is lengthy, Hernandez has bounced around quite a bit – almost as a journeyman reliever might have done:

Here’s what I mean:

  • California Angels (1993-96)
  • Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2004-05), also minor league coordinator (1997-2003)
  • Detroit Tigers (2006-08)
  • Cleveland Indians (2009)
  • Gulf Coast League Phillies (2010)
  • University of South Florida (2011)
  • Miami Marlins (2013-15)
  • Atlanta Braves (2017), also minor league coordinator immediately after exiting Miami.

This… mobility… is not entirely Hernandez’ doing.  As bullpen coach for the Indians in 2009, he was swept out as part of the Eric Wedge purge.  With the Marlins, it was the removal of “manager” Dan Jennings from the dugout that caused another house-cleaning.

Similar things happened with the Angels (Marcel Lacemann, et al) and Rays (Lou Pinella).

If you are recognizing some of those manager names, there’s more:  names like Joe Madden (Angels and the Rays), Don Zimmer and Jim Leyland are also included.  Hernandez has worked for a veritable Who’s Who of long-time baseball people.

Home/Braves News