Aug/060
Matter All About: Jeremy Hermida
Some scouts called Hermida the best high school hitter since Eric Chavez. Others saw a young Andy Van Slyke or Paul O’Neill. Hermida himself identified more with Shawn Green. Whichever comparison you prefer, there’s no denying his polished hitting approach and advanced maturity. He has a smooth, quick stroke, top-notch plate discipline, a strong work ethic and first-rate makeup. He’s comfortable working deep in counts and has no trouble taking pitches on the outer half to the gap in left-center. Hermida is durable, as he played through a minor ankle problem in 2002 and a minor heel injury in 2003. Though just an average runner, he has excellent instincts on the bases. He was thrown out just twice in 30 steal attempts last season, both on the back end of double steals. His arm is much improved to where it’s now average.
2006 Quick Stats
AVG .272 | HR 5 | RBI 22 | OBP .352 | SLG .407
VS. LEFT: .231 / .607 VS. RIGHT: .287 / .814 HOME: .274 / .762 AWAY: .269 / .755
(Stats listed are batting average and OPS)
Short Bio
Jeremy Ryan Hermida (born January 30, 1984 in Marietta, Georgia) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Florida Marlins. He bats left handed and throws right handed. Called up from Double-A Carolina, Hermida made his major league debut with the Florida Marlins on August 31, 2005. On the first at-bat of his major league career, he did something only one other person had done. At Dolphins Stadium, he had a pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning off the St. Louis Cardinals’ Al Reyes on a 1-1 pitch in the Marlins’ 10–5 loss Hermida GS. Hermida, who hit 18 home runs and 63 RBI in 118 games in Double-A, batted for pitcher Brian Moehler and homered to right field, some 373 feet away. But he made a name for himself by becoming the third player in baseball history to hit a grand slam in his first game, the second to do it in his first at-bat, and the first to pull it off as a pinch-hitter.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other player with a grand slam in his first major league at-bat was pitcher Bill Duggleby, who did it for the Philadelphia Phillies at home against the New York Giants in the second inning on April 21, 1898. Duggleby was the winning pitcher that day. Bobby Bonds of the San Francisco Giants also hit a slam in his first game off Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jack Purdin, doing so in his third plate appearance on June 25, 1968, at Candlestick Park. The Giants won 10–0.
After graduating from Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, he was the Marlins’ No. 1 draft pick in 2002, and one of the highest-rated minor league players this season, Hermida was a rising star in minor league before being brought up. The Marlins were not looking for him to make a significant contribution the way Miguel Cabrera did when he was brought up from Double-A in June 2003, but Hermida has been compared to Braves’ rookie Jeff Francoeur ever since the two were 14 years old growing up in the Atlanta area. Francoeur has emerged as a strong National League Rookie of the Year candidate. The Marlins promoted Hermida before September 1 so that he would be eligible to be on the Marlins’ postseason roster. However, the Marlins, who led the wild-card race on September 13, lost 12 of their next 14 games and were eliminated from postseason contention.
Media
Hermida’s three-run homer
Hermida’s big blast
Hermida’s homer ties it up
Hermida’s game-tying HR
Hermida’s RBI double
[BASEBALL AMERICA]
[WIKIPEDIA]
[FLORIDA MARLINS]
[MATTER ALL ABOUT: RICKY NOLASCO]
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