By BUSTER OLNEY, The New York Times
February 10,
1999
Fleeing his celebrity, Orlando Hernández dodged a pen-wielding platoon and slipped through an exit door and into a seemingly empty side room at the Marriott Marquis Tuesday night. He wiped his brow, turned around in this haven -- and immediately was face-to-face with two grinning waiters who held out paper napkins for Hernández to sign.
"It's not easy," he said wearily in Spanish.
Meeting the great demand for his time and his signature may be the hardest part of his life now, 14 months after he defected from Cuba. Hernández was one of five athletes last night honored with the Thurman Munson Award, given for achievement or charitable contributions.
Hernández is considered a crucial element of the Yankees' pitching rotation in 1999, after going 12-4 last season. A savvy pitcher, he could capitalize on the great run support the Yankees' offense provides and approach 20 victories this summer.
And the emptiness that Hernández felt last season amid his instant success has been addressed. Hernández's mother and two young children, allowed to leave Cuba in October with Hernández's former wife, will remain in the United States permanently.
Hernández has bought a home for his mother and another for his children and his former wife in Miami, and the children are enrolled in school. Hernández lives in Miami Beach, some 20 to 25 minutes from his children, and on some days, he will pick up 8-year-old Yahumara and 3-year-old Steffi from school.
"Having them here has improved my life tremendously," he said, with his agent, Joe Cubas, serving as interpreter. "They've given me a lot more life and a lot more strength."
Hernández beamed after signing a four-year, $6.6 million contract with the Yankees last March, saying he had realized a lifelong dream to pitch in the major leagues. But the separation from his children wore on him. Minutes after beating Montreal in June, Hernández wept in front of his locker, as teammates passed by shyly. Jose Cardenal, the Yankees' first base coach, wondered how Hernández would handle his loneliness once the season was complete and he left the clubhouse cocoon.
But in October, John Cardinal O'Connor persuaded the Cuban President Fidel Castro to allow Hernández's family to come to the United States. At the time, it was announced that the party had been granted a 30-day visa. A person close to Hernández said yesterday that the true understanding was that each family member will always have the option of returning to Cuba -- and right now, they intend to stay close to Hernández in the United States.
Buying a home for them, the pitcher said, "is the least I could've done for them, considering all that's gone on."
"I'm very, very happy, and my kids are very, very happy," he said.
Since the World Series, three others who left Cuba on a boat with Hernández have insisted that the details of his defection have been exaggerated. The craft they boarded, the others said, was quite sound, rather than rickety and leaking. There were no sharks in sight, the others have said. Another of the party reportedly has filed suit against
Hernández, saying he reneged on promises to share the money he made when he signed his baseball contract.
At the time Hernández defected, he spoke generally of a harrowing journey, of waiting for days for someone to spot them on the small island where the boat had washed ashore. Early in the season, Hernández began deflecting questions about his defection, because of negotiations for a movie.
Tuesday, Hernández contested the credibility of one of those who made the trip with him, Juan Carlos Romero.
"Which of his stories would you believe, his first version, the second or the third?" Hernández said while adding he had never initiated specific stories of danger.
The weather, Hernández said, was great.
"I don't know who spoke about sharks," Hernández said. "I did see some sharks -- in Las Vegas, on my vacation.
"I don't know where the story about the leaks was coming from. But I would like to see people concentrate on the first versions given by all the members of the party."
As he fielded questions Tuesday night, Hernández was besieged by fans, some asking him to sign two or three baseballs, others laughing as he dryly answered questions from reporters.
Yes, he said, he has quit smoking cigarettes, but he still likes another type of tobacco.
"Cigar Cuba," he said in English, almost cooing, "It's good."
The fans around him laughed and pressed forward, reaching out to Hernández.
Nearby, Mets pitcher Rick Reed -- who won more games than Hernández last season -- stood almost alone, virtually unrecognized.
"Look at that," Reed said. "All that attention. And he deserves every bit of it."
Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company