[NPB NOTEBOOK] Newcomer Elier Hernandez Off to a Sizzling Start for Yomiuri Giants

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Elier Hernandez is off to an impressive start with the Central League's Yomiuri Giants.

Hernandez, a 29-year-old native of the Dominican Republic, made his debut with the Giants on Tuesday, May 28 and has been on a hitting tear ever since.

In eight games with the Giants through June 5, Hernandez is batting .441 with 15 hits, including two homers, and nine RBIs. He has eight strikeouts and two walks. 

Hernandez played briefly for the Texas Rangers in 2022, but he has otherwise spent his career in the minor leagues. In 14 games with the Rangers that year, Hernandez had six hits in 33 at-bats for a .182 batting average.

The Dominican was penciled into the lineup for Yomiuri's first interleague game of the season on May 28 and got a single to left for his first hit in Japan in the third inning against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. SoftBank won the game 2-0.

On Wednesday, June 5, Hernandez had his third consecutive game with three or more hits, the 20th player in Giants history to achieve the feat. The last player to do it was Alex Ramirez in 2009.

Hernandez is the first non-Japanese hitter in Yomiuri Giants club history to start off his career with a hit in eight consecutive games. The previous club record of six by a non-Japanese player was held by Lu Ming-tsu, also known in Japan as Meishi Ro (1998) and Phil Bradley (1991).

Impressions of Yomiuri Giants Newcomer

As luck would have it, Ramirez was at Wednesday's game against Lotte and said he was impressed by Yomiuri's new gaijin tsuketto (foreign helper).

"He's a player who has a compact swing and doesn't swing wildly at pitches," Ramirez told reporters.

Ramirez added, "He has enough power to hit home runs and he's a batter who can adapt to Japanese pitchers. I think his addition is a big deal for the Giants."

His presence must be having an impact. As of Wednesday, June 5, the Giants had moved into first place in the Central League standings with a record of 28 wins, 24 losses and four tie games. They are also a respectable 5-3 in interleague games.

Over the years, the Giants have often struggled to find gaijin players who can fit in to the rather rigid requirements of playing for Japan's most popular team. 

Some have succeeded but many have wilted under the pressure. It will be interesting to see how Hernandez holds up this summer with the Kyojin.

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Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.