Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-- --Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez has worked hard through two weeks of spring training to get to know the young pitchers in camp. He knows that's his job as a veteran and doesn't expect or want anything in return. That includes fastballs directed at his 31-year-old body.
Hernandez pulled up his shirt in the Orioles' clubhouse yesterday to reveal a huge welt on his side and another blemish on the inside of his left knee. The first came courtesy of an errant pitch from one of the young pitchers - Hernandez forgot exactly which one - in live batting practice earlier this week.
The other came from Garrett Olson in yesterday's intrasquad game. Realizing he wasn't agile enough to get out of the way, Hernandez yelled several words in Spanish before the ball even made contact with his knee.
"These pitchers don't like me," Hernandez said. "That's why I just like to catch. Things like that always happen to me when I hit."