Living 15 minutes from Constellation Field, Nick Hernandez returned to his old habits this weekend. The El Paso Chihuahuas reliever walked into the clubhouse to familiar faces. He stepped back into the Triple-A home of the organization he spent five seasons with.
“Everyone’s jealous that I’m getting to stay at my own house,” Hernandez chuckled about his El Paso teammates.
Hernandez, 28, was drafted by the Houston Astros in the eighth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. A graduate of Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas, he didn’t move far from home, playing collegiately at the University of Houston. After four years of bouncing around the Astros system, he found a consistent stay in his hometown last year.
His contract expired this past winter, though. He elected free agency and joined the Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League. Space Cowboys pitching coach Erick Abreu helped Hernandez find his footing in a league filled with major-league experienced players.
“I like the coaching staff here. They were always good to me,” Hernandez said. “I like (Mickey) Storey as a manager. I think he’s going to be great big-league manager one day.”
Conversations heated up after winter ball. Hernandez signed a minor-league contract with the San Diego Padres in January.
Leaving 14 tickets at the box office Friday, friends and family took the short drive to watch Hernandez in his new threads. His aunts, Makiko and Junko, from Tokyo were also coincidently in town for Hernandez’s start. The two are dedicated baseball fans and attended their first Space Cowboys games this weekend.
Hernandez’s wife, Ada, and 4-month-old son, Henry, are among those in attendance this weekend. The family had the opportunity to do something baseball currently doesn’t offer.
“As baseball players, we’re always on the go,” Hernandez said. “We’re always traveling. We’re never really home, so it’s nice to be able to wake up, go outside to your backyard, mow the lawn, whatever you got to do.”
Hernandez took his rounds in the Texas League to start the year. He made 24 appearances for Double-A San Antonio, toeing the rubber against the Corpus Christi Hooks four times.
“There’s a lot of people in the same boat as me that were in Double-A,” Hernandez said. “It was a really good Double-A team, and it was fun. We were winning a lot.”
Hernandez got his first taste of clinching a playoff spot as the Missions were crowned first-half division champions. He struck out 43 batters in 28.1 innings, recording a 13.7 K/9 — the highest of his career.
The Padres promoted Hernandez to Triple-A El Paso on June 28. He now stands one step closer to the big leagues — a place he found himself one year ago with the Space Cowboys.
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