Factory Of Sadness
FanSided

Cleveland Indians: 8 failed cornerstone players since the Shapiro Era

By Chad Porto

Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge watches play August 24, 2003 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7 - 5 at Tropicana Field. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge watches play August 24, 2003 in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Indians beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7 - 5 at Tropicana Field. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 25: Fausto Carmona #55 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of their game on September 25, 2011 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Twins defeated theIndians 6-4. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 25: Fausto Carmona #55 of the Cleveland Indians pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of their game on September 25, 2011 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. The Twins defeated theIndians 6-4. (Photo by David Maxwell/Getty Images) /

Roberto Hernández/Fausto Carmona

Call him what you will, but we’ll just call him that one guy who the Indians and the city were very high on. The Indians assumed that the talent they were signing in 2000, Fausto Carmona, was 16. From that point on it would take him six years to get to the majors, which means that everyone was under the assumption he was just 22 years old.

While he did have two good years, including one All-Star game appearance, the truth would come out in 2012, when Carmona was revealed to not be 28 as previously assumed, but 31. Also, Carmona wasn’t his real name. No, he was born Roberto Hernandez.

This would cause him to miss most of the 2012 season, having to deal with issues with his work visa and a suspension from the MLB due to age and identity fraud. Upon his return, the now-re-named Hernandez performed poorly, made worse by it being a contract year. He would not be re-signed and ended up leaving for Tampa Bay on a one-year deal.

It wasn’t just his name that caused chaos as his play was also erratic. In all but one year with the Indians, Hernandez/Carmona failed to post a winning record, and constantly had ERA’s over 5.00. He only dripped below 5.00 twice and those were his best years with the Indians.

He was once considered a future Ace and was even given the Opening Day start in 2011, signifying just how much fate the Indians had in him. Yet, that all came smashing down around him once the truth was revealed.

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