3 Star Admiral – Juan Hernandez
Juan Hernandez
On Monday June 10th, prior to the 7:05 game vs. the Chicago Samurai, we will be inducting the first 3 Star Admiral ever: Juan Hernandez, who managed the AAA Tacoma Commodores from 1971-1985. Hernandez never actually donned a Washington uniform himself, which prevents him from being named a 4 Star Admiral. But, he helped guide the development of many the players who would become central contributors on the Admirals dynasty of the 1970s. Here are the highlights of his biography...
1. In his 15 seasons as Tacoma's manager, Hernandez led the Commodores to 8 playoff appearances and 3 league titles, the 2nd most in Pacific Coast League (PCL) history behind the legendary Wilbur Purcell, who led the Knoxville Jaguars (St. Louis Savage organization) to 9 playoff appearances and 4 league titles. Today, Purcell manages the Oneota Warrios (Omaha Wolverine Organization) of the New York-Penn League.
2. Hernandez also ranks 2nd in PCL history in league wins (behind Fred Miller) at 1,302; 10th in winning percentage at .540; 3rd in games over .500 at +192; and tied for 1st in losses with 1,110 (with Miller).
3. Hernandez managed such familiar Admirals' names as Reggie Phillips, Herman Thomas, Ben Fleming, Brad Robertson, Charlie Olsen, Kane Turner, Roy Wilson, Gary Knowles, Dwight Bell, Sergio Torres, Norberto Aviles, Pepe Banda, Nicoli Fitpaldi, Bob Ward, Ienobu Hori, Paco Lopez, Julio Contreras, Chris Farley, and Jon "The Natural" Robinson. Legends one and all.
4. Hernandez always aspired to the Admirals' top job, and in fact by many scouts' asessment he was a more talented manager than Mario Nunes ever was. But for various reasons, he was passed over twice by Washington management after Nunes' retirement, including with the most recent Doug Slavin hiring. This led to Hernandez being fed up with Washington, leaving the organization after 1985. Making Hernandez an official 3 Star Admiral is partly meant to mend fences.
5. After leaving Tacoma, Hernandez became the skipper of the Adjuntas Sawfish of the Rookie Puerto Rico League in 1986, a job he has kept ever since then. Hernandez has continued to be successful in his new post, winning +110 games on 3 separate occasions! The ever-mighty Naguabo Crickets have prevented him from winning more than one league title there despite these impressive win totals, but Hernandez continues to put up the good fight.
6. Hernandez, still just 57, continues to harbor dreams of getting a major league job, but he recognizes at this point in his career that he's probably destined to finish things off as a(n extremely successful) minor league manager. To some extent at least, he's made his peace with this. He took over the Adjuntas job because he loves the island climate of Puerto Rico, and can easily see himself slipping into retirement on the island.
7. Back in his days in Tacoma, Hernandez opened up a successful Hot Dog & Teriyaki fast food joint: Ricardo's (Ricardo is Juan Hernandez' son). To this day, Ricardo's is a minor local landmark.