Orlando Hernandez Pedroso, famously known as “El Duque,” is a highly regarded former professional baseball pitcher hailing from Cuba.
He achieved great success playing for the New York Yankees.
In addition to El Duque’s accomplishments, his half-brother Livan Hernandez also had a remarkable career as a baseball player.
Despite their shared passion for baseball, El Duque and Livan Hernandez have an age gap of 10 years, highlighting their unique journey in their respective careers.
“El Duque” contributed to the Yankees during that team’s run of World Series championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000.
He also won a World Series with the White Sox in 2005. He is recognized for his distinctive high leg kick, utilization of the Eephus pitch, and delivery of impressive performances in playoff games.
El Duque began his career in Cuba, playing for the Industriales and representing the Cuban national baseball team.
However, his path changed dramatically when his half-brother defected from Cuba. It led to El Duque’s exclusion from the national team and his subsequent ban from Cuban baseball.
He defected himself on Christmas Day in 1997. He sought asylum in Costa Rica before eventually making his way to the United States with the assistance of the New York Yankees.
El Duque Brother
Eisler Livan Hernandez Carrera, a.k.a. Livan Hernandez, is the half-brother of El Daque. Livan is a former professional baseball pitcher from Cuba, and he has enjoyed a successful 17-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB).
He was born into a low-income family in the Villa Clara Province in Cuba.
In 1994, Livan met recruiter Joe Cubas in Venezuela, and they planned to escape through Mexico.
When he was 20 years old, Livan left his job as a Cuban athlete and defected to the United States in 1995.
Throughout his career, he played for various teams and was selected to two All-Star Games. The Florida Marlins awarded Livan the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 1997 World Series.
Livan represented multiple teams during his career, including the Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, etc.
Livan is known for his defensive prowess. He committed only fifteen errors throughout his career.
Livan earned a reputation as a reliable and durable pitcher, consistently delivering long outings. From 1998 to 2007, he pitched at least 199 innings each season.
Livan retired in 2014 and runs a youth baseball academy in Miami.
Age Gap & Family Tree
El Duque is Livan’s older half-brother. Their father, Arnaldo, had four wives. Therefore, El Duque and Livan have different mothers. It has been reported that El met Livan when he was 5.
According to official sources, El Duque was born to Maria Julia Pedroso and Arnaldo Hernandez on October 11, 1965, in Havana, Cuba.
However, when El Duque signed with the Yankees in 1998, he claimed to have been born in 1969.
In 1999, The Smoking Gun published his divorce decree from Cuba, which surfaced during a child support case. The document revealed that El Duque was born in 1965.
Since the legal document states that El Duque was born in 1965, it is reasonable to assume that he was born in that year.
Similarly, Livan was born to Arnaldo Hernandez and Miriam Carreras on February 20, 1975, in Villa Clara, Cuba.
Therefore, the brothers have an age gap of 10 years.
