At the age of 44, Orlando Hernandez is riding the bus for Double-A Harrisburg.
El Duque, who has not pitched in the majors since 2007 — when he posted a solid 3.72 ERA in 24 starts for the Mets, pitched well in a comeback attempt with the Rangers in 2009. Unfortunately, despite his 2.45 ERA for Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Rangers released the World Series champion.
Since returning to the game this summer in the Nationals' organization, Hernandez has posted a 1.26 ERA and quickly was promoted from rookie ball to Double-A.
If Orlando can make it back to the bigs, he would be reunited with his brother, Livan Hernandez, for the first time since their stint with the Montreal Expos in 2003.
Orlando followed in his brother's footsteps by defecting from native Cuba in 1997, two years after Livan came to America.
"Baseball is like my family. And I feel strong and in good condition. I
think I can [still] pitch in the Major Leagues. Also, this is a good
chance to play with my brother on the same team," said El Duque, according to minorleaguebaseball.com.
If Orlando does make it back to the majors, he will be the second-oldest player in the league, behind only Jamie Moyer. Some reports even assert that he could be as old as 53, which would make him the oldest player in the league since Satchel Paige played at age 59 in 1965.
