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About
Tony Fernandez . Tony Fernandez played in the Major Leagues for 18 years. During his career he won 4 Gold Gloves and was
selected to 5 All-Star Games. . As a young boy, he never
thought Tony never thought he was even good enough to sign, let alone participate at the level that he attained in the Major
Leagues. "God has blessed me; it has become my time to do the same for someone else now". . Born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic; Tony was signed at the age of 17 and made his Major League
debut in September, 1983 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He played his first 8 seasons with the Jays and was selected to the All-Star
Game 3 times and merited with four Gold Glove Awards while participating in the Post Season in 1985 and 1989. In
1986, he led the Majors in games played and at bats which capturing the first of his 4 consecutive Gold Glove Awards. And
in 1990, he showed off his blazing speed by leading the Majors in triples with 17. . In 1991, Tony was
traded to the San Diego Padres, where he played for two seasons in the National League; once again he was selected to the
All-Star Game. In 1993, Tony went on to play for the Mets for half a season before going off to Toronto for the remainder
of the season where he went on to win the World Series against the Phillies. In
that post-season, Fernandez put up a .333 batting average and a .423 on base percentage. . In 1994, Tony was signed by the Cincinnati Reds where he played 3rd Base and earned a .993 fielding percentage.
1995 brought Tony the opportunity that almost every kid dreams of - becoming a Yankee shortstop. He played short and second
base for the Bronx Bombers that year where he tied Larry Bowa with the highest SS fielding mark (.980). . In 1997, he was signed by the Cleveland Indians to a one year contract
and they went on to play in the World Series against the Florida Marlins. During the 1997 post season, Fernandez batted .357 in the American League Championship. He won an award for
hitting a clutch 3 run homerun late in game 7 that the Orioles could not recover from. In the World Series, Tony posted a
.471 batting average and a .444 on base percentage. In 1998, Tony returned home to Toronto where he played 2 seasons and once again was selected
to the All-Star game in 1999. After playing in the Major Leagues for the most part of his career, Tony took on an invitation
to play with the Seibu Lions in Japan. After a great year, he was once again signed to a Major League contract with the Milwaukee
Brewers. Through mid 2001, Tony re-signed with the Blue Jays where he
began his baseball career. Tony's career in
the Major Leagues ended as it began - wearing the number he wore as a rookie, #1. Tony Fernandez played his final game on October 7th 2001. .
Tony, now an ordained minister, puts his efforts into the Tony Fernandez Foundation, a
charitable organization he founded with the goal of influencing children’s lives to be productive citizens of the world,
bringing hope to a troubled society. When
he is not busy helping others, Tony spends time at home with his wife Clara and his five children - Joel, Jonathan, Abraham,
Andres and Jasmine.
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