C’s Chat – 2024 Vancouver Canadians C #19 Jommer Hernández

The first C’s Chat of the new season is with 2022-2024 Vancouver Canadians catcher Jommer Hernández.

The 23-year-old from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic entered professional baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as a free agent from the Banana Baseball Academy on July 3, 2017. After receiving a $250,000 signing bonus, Hernández started in the Dominican Summer League in 2018 and batted .247 with 19 runs batted in. He also threw out 39 percent of the baserunners who tried to steal on him over 45 games while stealing two bases himself. In 2019 with the DSL Pirates, Hernández slashed .317/.406/.423 with 10 extra-base hits and 22 RBI in 46 contests. He showed his defensive versatility by splitting time behind the plate and at first base. Over 22 games at first base and 20 behind the plate, Hernández committed just one error at each position and nailed 19 of the 38 runners trying to swipe a base. He also played five innings at second base.

The pandemic cancelled the 2020 season and Hernández was let go by the Pirates on July 9, 2021. The Toronto Blue Jays would sign him as a free agent on September 3. He suited up for the DSL Blue Jays where he cut down 47 percent of base stealers in 15 games.

Hernández’s stateside debut came in 2022 when he was assigned to the Low-A Dunedin Blue Jays. Playing time was sporadic but he made the most of it with a batting line of .274/.374/.321 over 27 games, six of them at first base. On July 22, Hernández was promoted to the Vancouver Canadians and made an immediate impact in his Northwest League debut on July 24. The C’s saw a 4-0 lead disappear against Spokane at Avista Stadium in the late innings but Hernández saved the day. After doubling in just his second High-A at-bat, he belted his first-ever professional home run in the top of the ninth inning to give Vancouver a 5-4 victory.

The next game for Hernandez with the C’s was his Nat Bailey Stadium debut and he would single against the Everett AquaSox in his first at-bat on Canadian soil on July 27. His biggest ‘At The Nat’ highlight came on August 4 when he contributed an RBI single and a three-run home run in the ninth to complete a doubleheader sweep against the Tri-City Dust Devils on August 4. Those contributions helped the C’s nail down the second-half Northwest League pennant and a berth in the championship final.

Back with Vancouver for 2023, Hernández got the season going for the club by driving in the team’s first run of the season in the home opener on April 11 in an eventual walk-off win over Tri-City. Later that homestand, he doubled in the winning run in a rain-shortened win against the Dust Devilson April 14. The biggest highlight was Hernández singling home the winning run and guiding Devereaux Harrison and Matt Svanson on their way to a seven-inning no-hitter to cap off a doubleheader sweep against Everett on June 10.

Those games were among Hernandez’s 62 starts behind the pentagon where he posted a caught stealing rate of 40 percent. He made three of the four starts in the Northwest League Championship Series where he batted .273 with a hit in all three games, including an RBI double in Game 1 at Everett. Hernández teamed up with the quartet of Hunter Gregory, Ian Churchill, Ryan Boyer and Conor Larkin for a nail-biting 1-0 victory in Game 3. He was back behind the dish for Game 4 where the final inning of the season was memorable for two reasons, one good and one bad. The bad was taking a Justin Kelly pitch just above his glove on his left hand with Blake Rambusch at the plate. The good was Hernández hanging in there for five more pitches as Rambusch lined out to Josh Kasevich at short for the final out. That resulted in Hernández jumping into Kelly’s arms in front of the mound to celebrate the C’s Championship win.

C’s Plus Baseball spoke with Hernández during the team’s annual Media Day along with Canadians head trainer and translator Rob Shifrin. This interview has been edited for clarity.

C’s Plus Baseball – How did you get started in baseball?

Jommer Hernández (as translated by Rob Shifrin) – I had a dream ever since I was a young kid in the Dominican Republic playing ball since I was eight years old. After turning 16, I started catching.

CPB – How did you get into catching? Was it something you wanted to do or did somebody convince you to do it?

JH/RS – I had never really thought about being a catcher. Some of my coaches convinced me because it was a great opportunity for me to develop and have a good chance to become a professional.

CPB – Who would you say has helped you the most in your baseball career growing up?

JH/RS – My family above everything else has helped me become not only a better player but a better person. For that, it’s definitely my close family.

CPB – In the professional ranks, you began with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. What was that like getting to play professional ball with the Pirates?

JH/RS – Baseball is baseball and it’s the same, you know, one org to another. I’m still doing the thing I love and it was an interesting process to switch over to a new team, but I still kept doing my thing and I enjoyed the process all the way through.

CPB – What was it like starting out with the Blue Jays organization?

JH/RS – Despite never having played in the U.S. prior to coming over to the Blue Jays, I felt like the process was easy but I have always trusted my proces and worked hard. I have really enjoyed the transition and it’s been a great experience overall.

CPB – You get to here (in Vancouver) from Dunedin in 2022. Your first professional home run in Spokane to win a game. What do you remember about that game?

JH/RS – This was one of the most special moments of my career and I’ll always remember that game in that moment. It had been a long time since I had a home run, especially in a big moment like that. And arriving here was a very special time for that to happen.

CPB – And your first home run here at Nat Bailey Stadium also won a game. How big was that to do in front of the hometown fans this time?

JH/RS – I trust in God and God is the key for me. It’s something I hold dear to me. And that home run was very special, more special than the first one, just to be here in front of the fans and have an amazing reaction and experience with that.

CPB – In 2022, you make it to the championship and unfortunately Eugene won but last year, you win it all against Everett. What was that like playing in those two championship series?

JH/RS – It’s part of the game. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose but I never kept my head down and came back with the same approach as my teammates. And I was happy to see a different result because there was no way we were going into that series without giving it all that we could to change that result.

CPB – What was that like last two games here at home, Games 3 and 4? Especially Game 3 and getting all your pitchers through it and doing your part to help the team win.

JH/RS – I’m just thankful for the trust that the pitchers have in me as the catcher and knowing that I was able to guide them, reviewing film of the other teams, knowing their habits, knowing the way to call the game. Just having that trust within the pitching staff and getting the job done.

CPB – One of the worst parts about being a catcher is the foul tips (and bruises) you get. In the ninth inning of Game 4, you got shaken up, but I’m sure the pain went away as soon as the final out was made. What was that like that ninth inning, knowing you’re that close and then finally getting to celebrate with Justin Kelly at the end?

JH/RS – When it happened, when I took that foul ball, Brent (C’s manager Brent Lavallee) told me, ‘Hey, one more. We need you for one more. Let’s close this thing out. It’s almost over.’ And I had those words in my head ringing true when the game was won and it was worth it all the way to push through.

CPB – Describe your vantage point of that final out when the ball was caught by Josh Kasevich at short and you hugged Justin Kelly. What do you remember about that moment?

JH/RS – It’s one of the most beautiful moments of my career and it’s something I will never going to forget. The emotion of the fans. When we had two outs, I know we were winning but I would say until we had that 27th out, we wouldn’t have won. And no matter what, in the game of baseball, you have to get 27 outs. Regardless of what happens previously. In the end you have to get 27 outs.

CPB – I wanted to ask you your walk-up music. You like to use the John Cena song, and the ‘You Can’t See Me’ gesture (during the starting lineup introduction). You had that song in Dunedin as well. When did you decide to use that song?

JH/RS – It’s the song that I’ve used throughout my career because it’s the song that I feel always brings out something more of me. I’ve been a fan of John Cena since I was a kid. I saw him fight, and I saw how all the wrestlers respected him. And I like the way he says, ‘You can’t see me’. It brings the most out of me. And it’s a message in my head that says, ‘Hey, we’re going to fight.’

CPB – I know you do great when it comes to throwing out runners. Would you say that’s your favorite aspect of catching?

JH/RS – That’s the part I enjoy the most. Getting runners out of the game. Because that’s what I can do the most to help my team and save my pitcher.

CPB – Did you have a favorite major league team growing up or a favorite player?

JH/RS – My favorite catcher has always been Ivan Rodriguez. I think he’s the type of catcher I want to be, I want to bat well, I want to throw well, I want to run well. And Ivan Rodriguez did it all. He’s a player that just exemplifies everything that I want to be as a catcher. He can play all parts of the game and that’s something that I always wanted to be able to do as well.

Jommer Hernández File

• Born – October 20, 2000 in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
• Height/Weight – 5-foot-11, 181 pounds
• Bats/Throws – Right/Right
• Uniform Numbers – Wore number 1 with Dunedin and number 31 with Vancouver in 2022. Wore number 19 with Vancouver in 2023.
• Walkup Music – “The Time is Now” by John Cena and Tha Trademarc.

Thanks a million to Jommer Hernández, Rob Shifrin and C’s broadcaster Tyler Zickel for getting this C’s Chat on the board to start the season.