[MorganMiller1926]

Cuban immigrant, Livan Hernandez had a relatively high earned run average, (well over 4.00) but his managers loved his durability. He was one of the top "Innings Eaters" of his day, notching 50 Complete Games, in an era where the CG had almost become extinct. Overalll he had 1,976 strikeouts in 3,189 inning Pitched, challenging the likes of Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson and Andy Pettitte for the Innings Pitched leadership of the 2000-2009 decade.
Hernandez is depicted here pitching for the Montreal Expos in 2004, their last year of existence before moving to become the Washington Nationals the following year. The card is an '04 Topps Heritage card, which based their retro design on that of the of the original 1955 Topps set. Hernandez led the National League three time in Innings Pitched in his 16-year career (1997-2012). His 9-3 record as the National League runner-up for the Rookie Of The year award was indispensable in the Florida Marlins push to secure the Wild Card and eventually triumph in the 1997 World Series over the Cleveland Indians.
Hernandez's 17-11 record for the 2000 San Francisco Giants was his personal best in Wins. By the end of the 2011 season, however, his lifetime record had faded to 174-176, but Hernandez put together a good final season in 2012 as a reliever at age 37 to register a 4-1 record to get back over the .500 mark at 178-177. Then rather smartly on his part, he quit while he was ahead to forever remain a winning pitcher, even if it was by the slimmest of margins - one game over .500, with a career winning percentage of .501..