Willie Hernández, MVP & WS champ in '84 with Tigers, passes

Tigers great Guillermo "Willie" Hernández died Monday. He was 69.

One of the many great Puerto Rican players throughout Major League Baseball history, Hernández was a dominant closer in Detroit who won both the American League Most Valuable Player Award and Cy Young Award for the 1984 World Series champion Tigers.

The left-hander had a 13-year MLB career and was a three-time All-Star for the Tigers from 1984-86. He helped lead Detroit to a World Series title -- still the franchise's most recent -- in his first season with the team.

Hernández recorded a career-high 32 saves with a 1.92 ERA and 112 strikeouts in that 1984 season. He pitched 140 1/3 innings, all in relief, and led the Majors with 80 appearances and 68 games finished.

In the postseason, Hernández finished off two of the Tigers' three wins in their ALCS sweep of the Royals, notching a save in Game 3. He picked up two more saves in Detroit's World Series victory over the Padres, including the clinching Game 5 at Tiger Stadium.

Thanks to his performance that season, Hernández became one of only 11 pitchers to win both the Cy Young and MVP Award in the same year.

Born on Nov. 14, 1954, in Aguada, Puerto Rico, Hernández was first signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1973. But he was selected by the Cubs in the Rule 5 Draft in 1976 and began his big league career with Chicago the next year, making his MLB debut on April 9, 1977.

After seven seasons in Chicago, Hernández was traded back to Philadelphia in 1983, where he pitched for one year before being traded to the Tigers before the 1984 season. Hernández pitched his final six Major League seasons in Detroit, which is where he became a star reliever thanks to his screwball and cutter.

Hernández finished his MLB career with a 70-63 record and 147 saves in 744 games. He had a 3.38 career ERA and 788 strikeouts in 1,044 2/3 innings pitched.