Sid Fernandez "El Sid": 1986 World Champion Mets Pitcher (1984 - 1993)

Charles Sidney Fernandez was born in October 12, 1962, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The left hander threw a no hitter in his first high school start & was drafted by the Los Angele Dodgers in the third round of the 1981 draft, right out of high school.

He went 32-11 in three years in the Dodgers minor leagues winning the Texas League Pitching Triple Crown (13 wins, 209 strikeouts, and a 2.28 ERA) in 1983 with the San Antonio Dodgers. Fernandez threw two no hitters in the minor leagues to add to his resume.

He was brought up briefly by the Dodgers in 1983 appearing in two games going 0-1. The next year he was traded to the New York Mets for Bob Bailor.


Fernandez starting out the season at AAA Tidewater going 10-6. He was brought up to the Mets team in July 1984. 

Mets Debut: Fernandez debuted as a Met in Houston on July 16th warning a win allowing just two runs in seven innings of work.

That season he quickly settled in to the young Mets rotation by winning his first three starts. In his next two starts he pitched eight innings against the St. Louis Cardinals & Pittsburgh Pirates but earned no decisions.

In August he went just 1-4, then entering September lost his first three games as well. His personal losing streak went five straight games, six of seven. He closed out the year with two victories ending the Mets solid 90-win second place 1984 season at 6-6 with a 3.50 ERA. He struck out 62 batters in 90 innings of work.

Folk Hero: Fernandez eventually became known as “El Sid” and was another popular folk hero character around Shea Stadium. 

As Dwight Gooden’s fans hung up Ks for his strikeouts in the K Korner Sid’s fan club would hang up the letter S, in honor of each one of his "El Sid" strikeouts.

#50: He wore the number 50 in honor of his Hawaiian heritage & The Hawaii Five-0 television theme song would be played as he warmed up on the pitcher’s mound. 

Sid’s pitching delivery was strange & very deceiving to hitters. In motion he would stop with a hesitation, before quickly releasing his pitches. With that delivery and an arsenal featuring a fantastic curveball and a rising fastball, made him a good strikeout pitcher. His biggest downfall was struggling with his own weight issues.

1985: He began the season at AAA Tidewater going 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA, getting him called up in May. In his first start he pitched six innings allowing one earned run against the Phillies at Shea Stadium to get the win. He would lose his next four decisions and be 3-6 by the end of July although his ERA was just 2.74.

After a 2-2 August he had a strong September keeping the Mets in the pennant race. On September 2nd he pitched a complete game win in San Diego's beating the Padres 12-4.

On September 19th he struck out 11 batters in a 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Shea Stadium, keeping the Mets just one game in back of the Cardinals. On September 24th he tossed a two hitter in Philadelphia beating the Phillies striking out nine. 

The Mets faded away during the final week of the season & Sid ended the year at 9-9 with a 2.80 ERA. His 180 strikeouts were second on the club to Dwight Gooden.

He made 26 starts with three complete games and allowed 80 walks (second on the club to Ron Darling). In 170 innings only allowing 108 hits, averaging in 5.71 hits per nine innings. 

Trivia: That ratio led the major leagues & it was the second best in National League history behind only Carl Lundgren's 5.65 in 1907. He didn’t get much run support & all the walks resulted in his low win totals.

1986 Championship Season: Fernandez was the Mets #4 starter that season, behind Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling & Bob Ojeda.

On April 12th, he took no decision in a loss to the Phillies, in a game where he walked a season high seven batters. 

On April 20th, he shut out the Phillies for eight innings giving up just two hits in the 8-0 win. On April 26th he followed with a big win over the Cardinals.

In May he continued his winning streak, beating the Reds in Cincy then the Astros at Shea to get to 4-0 with a 2.76 ERA. On May 12th, he struck out ten Braves at Shea, but earned no decision in the 1-0 Mets win over Rick Mahler. Tim Teufel won the game with a walk off single.

From June 8th to July 11th, Sid won seven straight games, holding his opponents to a 1.82 batting average & posting a 1.76 ERA. He collected 42 strike outs in 51 innings of work in that time. 

On July 1st, he won his tenth game of the year, beating Danny Cox & the Cards 2-1 in St. Louis. It was the first time he reached double figures in wins setting a new career high.

Two Hit Shut Out: On July 11th he pitched a gem of a game, striking out nine Atlanta Braves in a two-hit shutout at Shea Stadium. 

First Hawaiin Native to Play in an All-Star Game: Fernandez started out the season by going 12-2 with a 2.67 ERA at the All-Star break. He was named to the NL squad & became the first Hawaiian native to play in an All-Star game.

1986 All Star Game: In the All-Star game played at the Houston Astrodome, Fernandez came into the game to start the 8th inning with the NL down 2-0.

He walked the first two batters, then struck out Brook Jacoby, Jim Rice and Don Mattingly in succession to get out of the 8th inning. The AL won the game 3-2.

 After the break he came back to suffer two straight losses. As the Mets continued to roll over the NL East though August, Sid went 3-0 in the month with two no decisions. On August 26th, although he allowed six runs on 12 hits, the Mets beat the Padres 11-6 to give Sid his 15th victory of the season.

In September he struggled a bit going 1-2 with three no decisions. The Mets were ready to clinch the NL East but they lost three straight in Philadelphia, with Sid taking the September 14th loss, prolonging the celebration. 

The Mets still had a 19-game lead. On September 17th, they would clinch at home with centerfieldmaz in attendance.

On October 5th, in preparation for the post season, he got a save out of the bull pen on the last day of the season.

Fernandez ended the year 16-6 with the league's third best winning percentage (.727%) striking out 200 batters (4th in the N.L.) in 204 innings of work, while posting a 3.52 ERA. He pitched much better at home in Shea Stadium posting a 2.17 ERA there as opposed to a 5.03 ERA on the road. Fernandez was one of four Mets pitchers to receive votes for the Cy Young Award.

1986 Post Season- NLCS: In the NLCS against the Houston Astros, El Sid took the loss to Mike Scott in Game #4 at Shea Stadium after giving up a two run HR to catcher Alan Ashby. (centerfieldmaz was in attendance that night)

1986 World Series: In the World Series against the Boston Red Sox, Mets manager Davey Johnson was afraid to start a lefty with a high fastball in Fenway Park. Fernandez was placed in the bullpen as a reliever & at first was not happy about it.

In the Game #2 loss, Sid came on in the 9th inning to finish off the game.

When Dwight Gooden fell apart in Game #5 at Fenway Park, Fernandez took over in the 5th inning and shut down the Boston Red Sox, mopping up the Mets 4-2 loss.

After the legendary Game Six where the Mets tied the series, it all came down to a Game #7 at Shea Stadium. Ron Darling got the start & the Red Sox got to him taking an early 3-0 lead. 

In the top of the 4th inning, Fernandez was summoned from the bull pen with one on & two outs. He would end up turning the game around with a spectacular performance.

Sid issued a walk to Wade Boggs then got Marty Barrett to fly out to end the inning. Sid retired seven batters in a row, recording four strikeouts along the way. 

In the top of the 6th inning, he struck out Rich Gedman & ended the inning with Spike Owen looking at a third strike. He electrified the once quiet crowd & brought Shea Stadium back to life.

Fernandez walked off the mound to a standing ovation & a switch in momentum leaning back to the Mets. (centerfieldmaz was in attendance for this one as well)!

The Mets scored three runs in the bottom of that 6th inning led by Keith Hernandez's two run single, then Gary Carter's sac fly. In the 7th they put up three more runs, with Ray Knight hitting a solo HR, as well as RBIs from Hernandez & Rafael Santana. In the 8th, Darryl Strawberry added a HR & Jesse Orsco drove in the final run.

Overall, in the World Series, Fernandez allowed one run on six hits, striking out ten batters & walking one in 6.2 innings pitched in three games.

After the Championship: In 1987, Fernandez started the third game of the Mets new season, getting moved up in the rotation as Dwight Gooden was doing his drug rehab. 

Fernandez began the year at 2-0 before suffering a loss to Greg Mathews & the Cardinals in St. Louis. 

On April 24th, the Cards came to Shea & Sid pitched a one run, six hit performance beating Mathews 2-1. Sid struck out a season high 11 batters in the game. He would match that feat two more times on the year.

Shut Out: On May 30th, he pitched his second career shutout, as he blanked the Padres in San Diego on five hits, while matching the season best 11 strike outs. Sid was 6-2 with a 2.12 ERA at the time, leading the Mets staff.

 He won his next two games, beating the Pirates at Shea & in Pittsburgh to get to 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA, among the NL's best. He then suffered a stretch where he lost four of five decisions. On June 17th he had one his worst outings giving up nine runs, seven earned in just four innings in a 9-1 loss in Montreal. 

1987 All Star: Fernandez was 9-5 with a 3.45 ERA at the break & his manager Davey Johnson, the NL All Sar teams' skipper, named him to the All-Star squad. It was his second All-Star nomination.

Fernandez came on in the 13th inning, of the Mid-Summer classic at Oakland Alameda Stadium.

The NL had just taken a 2-0 lead on Tim Raines two run triple off Jay Howell. Fernandez walked the leadoff batter, Kevin Seitzer then struck out Pat Tabler, got Matt Nokes to pop out & Dave Winfield to ground out to end the game.  Fernandez earned the save in the 2-0 NL victory.

After the break he missed three weeks due to a knee injury, which most likely started because of his ongoing weight issues. When he returned, he lost his first two starts giving up four runs to the Padres then just two runs to the first place Giants as Atlee Hammaker held the Mets to a run.

In September he would win two games for the Mets as they chased the Cardinals. On September 25th he kept the Mets 2.5 games back with a big win over the Pirates.  But the Mets lost three of their last five to finish three games back in second place.

On October 4th, he gave up five runs in an 11-6 win in St. Louis on the last day of the regular season.

Sid went 12-8 with a 3.81 ERA on the season. He struck out 134 batters & walked 67 in in 156 innings in 28 appearances, 27 starts. He was much better at home than on the road going 5-3 with a 2.98 ERA in Shea Stadium.

1988 NL Eastern Champion Season: Sid got the start in the Mets fourth game of the season & took a 5-1 loss at Philadelphia.  On May 4th, after three no decisions he got his first win, pitching five shutout innings in an 8-0 win over the Astros at Shea. He lost four of his next five decisions finding himself at 4-6 at the end of June. His ERA was 3.71 as he gave up two runs or less in nine of his first 15 starts. Poor run support would always haunt Fernandez throughout his career.

12 K Games & Shut Out: On July 3rd, he set a season high striking out 12 batters in a two-hit shutout over the Astros at Shea. It was his first shutout & the third of his career. On July 30th, he matched the 12 Ks with a seven-inning combined shut out over the Pirates. 

After the break he went 2-4 until mid-August. From there Sid was the Mets best pitcher, as he stepped up and helped lead the Mets to another Eastern Divisional title. From August14th to October 1st, he was 6-0 with a 2.26 ERA. He held opponents to a .186 batting average as they scored 14 runs in 55.2 innings of work.

On August 14th, he beat the Montreal Expos holding them to two runs in 8.1 innings as he struck out 11 batters, one short of his season best. On August 26th, he blanked the Giants for seven innings in a combined 3-0 shut out. On September 14th, he did the same to the Cubs at Shea for his ninth win. 

In back-to-back starts he then beat the Philadelphia Phillies reaching double figures in wins for the third straight season.

He finished the season with the NL's best hits per nine innings ratios going 12-10 (fourth on the club in wins) with 189 strikeouts (5th in the league) finishing up with the second-best strikeout per nine inning ratios, for the first of four seasons.

He posted a 3.03 ERA, with a much better ERA at home (1.83) and an 8-4 record at Shea Stadium. Once again, his hits per nine innings (6.10) was the best in baseball. 

1988 Post Season- NLCS: In the 1988 NLCS loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fernandez got the start in Game #5 at Shea Stadium, with the Series tied at two games each. 

After pitching three scoreless innings, he ran into trouble in the 4th. Sid gave up a two run double to veteran Rick Dempsey & another RBI double to Alfredo Griffin. In the top of the 5th, he gave up a three run HR to Kirk Gibson knocking him out of the game. 

Sid was the losing pitcher in the Mets 7-4 loss. The Mets came back to win Game #6 but were blown out in Game #7.

1989: Fernandez started out the 1989 season noticeably overweight & out of shape. He was criticized in the media & heard it from the fans as well. 

Manager Davey Johnson started him out in the bullpen, where he made two appearances. By mid-April he was back in the rotation & would arguably have the best season of his career.

From April 17th to April 28th, he started out winning his first three starts to go 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA. 

On May 9th he pitched into the 8th inning, holding the Reds to a run while striking out six in a 3-1 win. He wouldn't earn another win until June 25th, where in six of those nine starts he gave up just two runs or less. With that victory the Mets tied for first place, but it was short lived.

He went into the 1989 All-Star break at 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA having opponents hit just .195 against him.

16 K Game: On July 14th, in his first outing after the break he struck out a career high 16 batters in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. The 16-strikeout performance set a Mets record for lefthanded pitchers. In the game he did not issue a walk & scattered six hits.

On July 18th, in his next start, he shut out the Astros for seven innings in Houston, striking out six & walking just one in the 9-0 Mets win. 

Shut Out: On August 1st, he pitched a four-hit shutout against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium in an 11-0 Mets blowout. It was his fourth career shutout for the Mets. Sid had only one strike out in the game & walked two. He lowered his season ERA to 2.75 among the best in the NL. 

Five more straight no decisions followed, until an August 30th win in Los Angeles, reaching double digits for the fourth straight season. 

He went into September with an 10-3 record, as the Mets were just 2.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs. 

In September, he went 4-2, throwing three complete games in the month. On September 5th, he earned his 11th win of the year, in a big game against the first place Cubs. The Mets won the game on Juan Samuel's Walk off single off Mitch Williams.

Two Hitter: On September 21st he tossed a two hitter & struck out 13 Cards in a 6-1 win at Busch Stadium. It was his third double digit strike out game of the year.

Player of the Week Award: On September 26th, he, followed up with a three-hit shutout over the Phillies at Shea Stadium. It was Sid's second shutout of the season & the fourth in his career. He struck out nine while earning his 13th win of the year. 

On October 1st, he won his 14th game of the season, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates at Shea Stadium. He allowed two runs on four hits, striking out seven while issuing five walks. Those wins earned him the Player of the Week Award.

Fernandez finished the year with the league’s best winning percentage, (.737) going 14-5 as one of the Mets three 14 game winners. He posted a 2.83 ERA (9th in the NL) with 198 strikeouts (third most in the NL), six complete games, two shut outs & a career high 219 innings pitched. 

The Mets finished second to the Chicago Cubs in a non-wild card era.

1990:  Fernandez stated out the year with a loss to the Pirates giving up five runs in six innings

Two Hitter: On April 22nd, at Shea Stadium Sid threw a 5-0 two hit shut out over the Expos, fanning four & walking two.

In May, Fernandez allowed one run or less in four of his five starts but only came out with two wins in those games. In June he had two disastrous outings, as the Phillies scored seven runs & the Cubs scored six runs off him. 

On June 8th, he beat the Pirates & on June 20th the Cardinals, giving up just one run each time. From June 20th to July 25th, he posted a 1.91 ERA giving up seven earned runs, striking out 35 batters in 33 innings, going 3-1 in that time. Sid posted a season high ten Ks in two of those games.

In the final two months of the season, he went 2-7 even though hitters batted just .176 against him. In those 12 starts he gave up two runs or less seven times. The Mets went 33-30 in that time going from first place to finishing second four games back.

Bad luck, poor run support made him 9-14 on the season, the worst record of his career. He pitched well at Shea Stadium, going 8-5 at home with a 2.41 ERA. But Sid was horrible on the road going 1-9, with a 4.94 ERA. Once again, he was in the top ten in the league in several categories including the league's best hits per nine inning ratios for the third time in his career. Sid posted a 3.46 ERA, struck out 181 batters (5th most in the NL) & walked 67 in 179.1 innings in 30 starts.

1991: Fernandez suffered a terrible break when he broke his arm in Spring Training. He was out four months, returning in mid-July, only to go down again with knee problems due to his weight gain. 

He began at 0-3, before earning his first & only win on August 21st. On the year he was 1-3 with a 2.86 ERA pitching in just eight games. 

1992: This season, Fernandez rebounded well, but the Mets had a lot of changes within the team. They were now a fifth-place club finishing their lowest in almost a decade. They were labeled "the worst team money could buy".

After starting out 0-2 he won his first game on April 25th, beating the Phillies in Philadelphia. On May 10th he collected his second win, when he shut out the Dodgers for seven innings in a 3-0 combined shut out at Shea.

From June 22nd to July 24th, he was 4-1 with a 1.76 ERA, giving up just eight runs in 41 innings of work, as opposing hitters batted just .171 against him.

Shut Outs: On July 24th, he tossed a three-hit shutout over the Padres, striking out ten batters. It was his first shutout of the season & his seventh in his career.

In August he won two games on the California west coast road trip, to get to double digits in victories for the first time in three seasons & go above .500 on the year (11-9).

Shut Out: On September 20th, Sid pitched a 1-0 five hit shut out over the Expos with Ryan Thompson suppling the lone run of the game. It was Sid's second shut out of the year & his eighth of his career.

In the 1992 Mets season, Fernandez led the team in wins, going 14-11 with a 2.73 ERA (10th in the league) pitching 214 innings with 193 strike outs (4th in the league), he had six shut outs & two complete games. 

1993:  On April 14th, in his second start he beat the Rockies in Colorado for his first win. On April 25th the Padres scored eight runs on eight hits off Sid, including HRs by Derek Bell & ex- Mets teammate Tim Teufel.

 On April 30th, in San Diego he injured his knee covering first base & would go on the DL missing three months of action. 

On July 30th, he returned taking a 3-2 loss in St. Louis. Sid would lose three straight games, to fall to 1-3. On August 16th e beat the Reds in Cincinnati & then beat the Rockies 3-2 at Shea to close out the month. In September he lost his first two starts both to the Astros.

Shut Out: On September 12th, Sid tossed his ninth career shutout, as he threw a four-hit blanking of the Cubs at Shea, striking out six. It was the last shut out of his career.

On October 2nd, he beat the Marlins in Florida, for his final career Mets victory.

 On the season he was 5-6 with a 2.93 ERA, striking out 81 batters walking 36 in 119.2 innings of work in 18 starts. He was granted free agency & signed with the Baltimore Orioles.

Mets All Time Leader Board: "El Sid" is fourth on the Mets all-time list with 250 starts.  He is fifth on the All-Time Mets list in Wins (98) Strike Outs (1449) innings pitched (1584) & walks (596). 

He is tied with Bob Ojeda for 8th in shut outs (9). Sid is eleventh in ERA (3.14) & complete games with 23. He is also tied with Dennis Cook at 19th in appearances (255).       

Post Mets Career:  Fernandez spent parts of two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. In 1994 he averaged 7.41 strikeouts per nine innings, going 6-6 on the year. He also posted a career high 5.15 ERA allowing 27 HRs second most in the Majors.

In 1995 after going 0-4 with a 7.39 ERA the O's released him in mid-July. Three days later he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies & surprised everyone winning the Pitcher of the month award that August as he went 5-0. He would finish the year at 6-1 with a 3.34 ERA for the second place Phillies.

In 1996, he pitched his first ever Opening Day start taking a loss at Colorado. Injuries shortened his season by June as he finished up 3-6 with a 3.43 ERA. 

Family Tragedy: Sadly, in September 1996, Fernandez' father-in-law was shot to death in Honolulu by a disturbed co-worker.

In 1997 Fernandez signed with the Houston Astros pitching two minor league games at AAA New Orleans before getting called up for one game with the Astros before ending his MLB career. Over the next three seasons he was injured but did have one final chance at a comeback with the 2001 AL New York club, pitching one minor league game at AAA Columbus.

Career Stats: In fifteen seasons, Fernandez was 114 - 96 with 1,743 strikeouts 25 complete games, six shut outs, & a 3.36 ERA pitching in 1866 innings over 307 games. Opposing hitters only batted .209 against him in his career. Fernandez allowed only 6.85 hits per nine innings for his career which is the fourth-best total in MLB history. 

Sid was also a good hitting pitcher batting 1.82 in his career with one HR (1989) & 7 RBIs. 

Retirement: Fernandez moved back to his native Hawaii and was hired as the Honolulu sports industry development director. He was hired as an executive assistant to the Mayor of Honolulu in an effort to find sponsors for sporting facilities on Hawaii. He also did some high school baseball coaching.

Fernandez has also spent a lot of time golfing in celebrity matches. He and his wife operate the Sid Fernandez Foundation which awards four $5,000 college scholarships each year.

Family: Sid married Noelani Gillis Fernandez in 1991, together they have two children.

Honors: Sid appeared at the Mets 1986 twenty-year anniversary celebration, as well as the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium. In 2016 he attended at Citi Field for the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 Champions. 

In 2022 Sid was on hand for the Citi Field Old Timers Day celebration.