Alexander Fernandez (born August 13, 1969) is a former Cuban American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Chicago White Sox (1990-96) and Florida Marlins (1997, 1999-2000) in his 11-year Major League Baseball career. Fernandez retired in 2001, citing shoulder problems that were incurred in the 1997 postseason, when the Florida Marlins won their first-ever World Series championship. Despite being on the regular season Marlins team that went on to win the 1997 World Series, he was not on the World Series roster due to the aforementioned shoulder problems. However, Fernandez was on the 1997 postseason roster for the NLDS and NLCS.

On April 10 of that 1997 season, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Fernandez had a no-hitter broken up with one out in the ninth on a Dave Hansen single (the ball going under Fernandez' glove and under his right leg), the only hit Fernandez would allow in defeating the Cubs 1-0. The no-hitter would have been the first pitched against the Cubs since Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965.

Fernandez was born in Miami Beach, Florida in 1969. In 1990, Fernandez won the Dick Howser Trophy for National College Baseball player of the year while pitching at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC). He previously played at the University of Miami before transferring to MDCC to be eligible to enter the Baseball Major League Draft.

Going on a different path, Alex is involved in radio and becoming active in politics in his hometown of Miami Beach, where he campaigned for and helped elect its mayor. He is now the director of baseball operations at Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Florida.

Alex Fernandez was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame on September 13, 2008. The induction took place during a pregame ceremony before a Florida Marlins vs Washington Nationals game at Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]