Tag Archives: Fernando Rodney

Félix Hernández Among 14 New Candidates on the Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

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Félix Hernández is on the ballot.

The 38-year-old Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher, nicknamed “King Félix,” is among 14 new candidates on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released on Monday, joining 14 holdovers.

Félix HernándezHernández, the 2010 American League (AL) Cy Young winner and a six-time MLB All-Star, won the 2010 and 2014 AL ERA titles.

He was 169-136 with a 3.42 ERA and 2,524 strikeouts for Seattle from 2005-19. Hernández pitched the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15, 2012.

Hernandez isn’t the only Latino to become a first-time candidate.

Outfielder Carlos González, reliever Fernando Rodney and infielder Hanley Ramírez also are among the Latino newcomers on the ballot.

González was a three-time MLB All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner and the 2010 National League (NL) batting champion. He hit .285 with 234 homers, 785 RBIs and 122 stolen bases for Oakland (2008), Colorado (2009-18), Cleveland (2019) and the Chicago Cubs (2019).

Pedroia was a four-time MLB All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, helping Boston to World Series titles in 2007 and 2013. He batted .299 with 140 homers, 725 and 138 steals for the Red Sox from 2006-19, winning the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL MVP.

Ramírez was voted the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year and won the 2009 NL batting title, becoming a three-time MLB All-Star. He hit .289 with 271 homers, 917 RBIs and 281 stolen bases for Boston (2005, 2015-18), the Florida and Miami Marlins (2006-12), Los Angeles Dodgers (2012-14) and Cleveland (2019).

Other Latino holdovers include steroids-tainted stars Alex Rodriguez (134 votes, 34.8%) and Manny Ramirez (125, 32.5%) along with Carlos Beltran (220, 57.1%), Omar Vizquel (68, 17.7%), Bobby Abreu (57, 14.8%) and Francisco Rodríguez (30, 7.8%).

Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) members with 10 or more consecutive years of membership are eligible to vote. Ballots must be postmarked by December 31 and results will be announced January 23. Anyone elected will be inducted on July 27 along with anyone chosen December 8 by the hall’s classic baseball committee considering eight players and managers whose greatest contributions to the sport were before 1980.

Valoy Receives “Gran Soberano Award” at the Premios Soberanos

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It’s a Gran prize for Cuco Valoy…

The 80-year-old Dominican singer-songwriter has received the Gran Soberano award, the top arts prize at the Dominican Republic’s Premios Soberanos.

Cuco Valoy

Valoy was given the honor during a show featuring an opening performance by Juan Luis Guerra and “Merengue King” Johnny Ventura.

Valoy, who has been performing and recording for half a century, said he was dedicating the award to Los Virtuosos, the band that accompanied him early in his career, when he was a pioneer in taking Dominican music to Europe, “where few knew where our country is located.”

Earlier in the show, the legendary singer-songwriter was honored with a performance by his son, Ramon Orlando, singer Henry Garcia and popular urban music act Mozart La Para, who joined in interpreting “Juliana,” one of Valoy’s hits.

Guerra and Ventura were joined on stage by dozens of dancers, with the performance climaxing with everyone simulating Dominican pitcher Fernando Rodney throwing an imaginary strike, a gesture that became popular in the country when the Dominican Republic won the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Guerra also received an award in the category of most prominent artist or group abroad.

Puerto Rican reggaeton singer Wisin performed his hit, “Vacaciones,” and received huge applause from the audience when he received the Soberano International Prize.

The audience at Santo Domingo’s Eduardo Brito National Theater also enjoyed a performance by some members of the disbanded La Coco Band orchestra, founded about 30 years ago, which revolutionized merengue with contagious rhythm and simple lyrics.

Bachata artist Leonardo Paniagua, honored at the show for his long career, recalled the early days of the style, when it was difficult for him to be accepted on major stages.