Cleveland Guardians reliever Carlos Hernández has not yet pitched in the big leagues season due to an offseason car crash in his native Venezuela. He revealed what caused that crash on Tuesday.
Following his addition to the Guardians’ 40-man roster, Hernández told reporters he had been texting while driving before sustaining multiple career-threatening injuries in the collision on Jan. 11, per the Associated Press. He hopes it’s a warning for others to not do the same:
“I want it to serve as a reminder not to drive and text,” he said. “The accident happened right when I was texting in the middle of driving and it was very intense. It was very serious injuries. I was really scared, but I hope this serves as a reminder not to drive and text.”
Hernández’s injuries reportedly included a broken right femur, sprained ankle, broken left arm and cut into his arm that “almost to the bone. He was driving with his brother-in-law and a good friend when he became distracted.
He sounds grateful just to be alive:
“I feel like I’m here just as a testament of God’s will,” Hernandez said through an interpreter while sitting in the Guardians’ dugout during batting practice. “Otherwise, there’s no way to explain what has happened to me for normal words.”
Hernández has been with the Guardians since last July, when the organization claimed him off waivers from the Detroit Tigers. He made five appearances for the MLB club, allowing three earned runs in seven innings.
The Guardians re-signed Hernández to a minor-league contract in November, two months before the crash. He opened the season on the injured list and started playing again in July on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus, where he holds a 5.40 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.
That MLB comeback came to a head on Tuesday when Cleveland selected his contract as part of September roster expansion.
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