Humberto Fernández Pérez

Major League Baseball shortstop who played eight seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1957–1960), Detroit Tigers (1960–1963), and New York Mets (1963). Fernández appeared in 856 major league games, 810 as shortstop. He scored 270 runs, produced 666 hits, and had a batting average of .240.

Fernández began his career as a brilliant prospect for the Brooklyn Dodgers but was unable to break into the lineup with Pee Wee Reese at the shortstop position. On April 5, 1957, the Dodgers traded Fernández to the Philadelphia Phillies for five players (Ron Negray, Canadian Tim Harkness, Elmer Valo, and Melvin Geho), plus $75,000. Fernández made his first appearance with Philadelphia on April 16, 1957. Fernández was the regular shortstop for the Phillies for two seasons. In his first year with the Phillies, Fernández produced 131 hits for a batting average of .262 and an on-base average of .302. He stole 18 bases, fifth best in the National League. In 1958 he stole 12 bases, ninth place in the National League. Fernández's batting average fell in the next two seasons and he saw limited playing time in 1959, batting .211.
In December 1959, the Phillies traded Fernández to the Detroit Tigers, where he was the regular shortstop for three seasons from 1960 to 1962. In 1960, he led American League shortstops with 34 errors; with a fielding average of .947. In 1962, he achieved a .960. Surprisingly, Fernández was a great hitter in 1962. After six seasons in which he hit no more than 6 home runs, Fernández hit 20 home runs and 59 RBIs for the Tigers in 1962.
In May 1963 he went to the New York Mets. Fernández played 58 games for the Mets in 1963 and was then traded to the Chicago White Sox in April 1964. Fernández did not play for the Sox. He ended his career playing in Japan in 1965 for the Hanshin Tigers.

After retiring as an athlete, he sold life insurance for many years.