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Full Name: Fernando Viņa
Birthplace: Sacramento, CA
Birthdate: 04/16/1969
Height: 5-9 Weight: 180
Bats: Left Throws: Right
College: Arizona State
ML Debut: 04/10/1993
Contract Status: Signed through 2005
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Career Highlights & Transactions
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1991 - Began his professional career at Columbia of the Class-A South Atlantic League ... led the league's second basemen in fielding percentage (.965), total chances (600), assists (385) and double plays (61) ... paced the club with 42 stolen bases ... had 40 multi-hit games ... put together a 10-game hitting streak from 5/11 to 5/21 and a 12-game hitting streak from 5/27 to 6/12.
1992 - Was named to the Class-A Florida State League All-Star squad as a second baseman while at St. Lucie ... ranked fifth in the league in stolen bases (36) and sixth in batting average (.295) ... topped all F.S.L. second basemen in assists (360) and double plays (85) ... fanned just once every 17.8 plate appearances ... compiled a 14-game hitting streak in which he batted .351 ... was promoted to Triple-A Tidewater on 8/14 ... played in 11 games before being sent back to St Lucie, where he finished the season.
1993 - Was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the Rule V Major League Draft on 12/7/92 ... opened the season with the Mariners and appeared in 16 games at second base and four at shortstop ... registered a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage while handling 68 chances ... collected his first Major League hit, a double vs. the Orioles' Mark Williamson, and scored the winning run in a 7-6 victory on 4/11 ... drove in his first RBIs on 5/23 at KC ... had his first multi-hit outing against DET on 5/29 ... was sold back to the Mets organization on 6/15 and assigned to Triple-A Norfolk ... posted 15 multi-hit games.
1994 - Opened the season with the New York Mets ... was used primarily as a utility player, splitting time between second base, shortstop and third base ... also made six appearances in the outfield ... topped the N.L. by being hit by pitch 12 times, just one short of the Mets' club record ... shared the club season high with six pinch-hits ... hit safety in a season-best five straight games 4/10-16 ... was on the disabled list with a bruised right heel, 5/27 to 6/6 ... batted .353 on artificial surfaces, and .333 during day games ... was optioned to Norfolk (AAA) on 8/11 ... was hit by a pitch on the right ankle on 8/17 and was forced to miss the remainder of the season.
1995 - Was acquired by Milwaukee in an off-season trade ... led the Brewers with seven triples ... batted .343 (12-for-35) on artificial turf ... batted .329 in September/October ... hit his first Major League home run on 5/29 vs. MIN (off Scott Erickson) ... his lead-off home run on 6/24 at DET (off Mike Moore) was the first lead-off homer of his career ... reached base in seven consecutive plate appearances 9/28-29 ... had his first four-hit game on 9/16 at TOR, going 4-for-5 with a double, triple and two singles.
1996 - Appeared in 140 games and set then-career highs in every offensive category ... was hit by pitch 13 times, establishing a club record ... led A.L. second baseman in errors (16) ... collected two triples and drove in a career-best five runs 4/28 vs. SEA, tying a club record for triples in game ... also accomplished the feat 7/24 at SEA ... reached base safely in 40 straight games from 5/17 to 7/1 ... hit safely in 13 straight games from 6/17 to
7/1 ... batted .346 (18-for-52) over the streak ... tied club record by scoring four runs in a game on two occasions (6/11 at TEX and 9/12 at TEX) ... hit a lead-off homer on 6/28 at TOR (Juan Guzman), the second of his career (6/24, 1995 at DET) ... hit two home runs while going 5-for-6 with a triple, four runs and four RBIs on 9/12 at TEX ... the five hits were a career high and it marked the first multi-homer game of his career.
1997 - Appeared in just 79 games due to injury ... ranked fourth in the A.L. in bunts put in play (23) ... all four of his home runs came off righthanders ... compiled a .302 (52-for-172) batting average at home ... hit .319 (38-for-119) during month of August ... fractured the fibula near the ankle in his left leg while stealing second base at CLE on 4/19 ... at the time of the injury he was batting .321 ... the night prior to injury he matched a career high with five RBIs including a grand slam off Jack McDowell ... was placed on the 60-Day Disabled List on 4/20 ... appeared in three games with Class-A Stockton and six games with Triple-A Tucson during his rehabilitation assignment ... was re-instated from the DL and added to the 40-man roster on 7/18 ... had an 11-game hitting streak from 4/10 to 7/20 ... had an eight-game hitting streak from 7/29 to 8/5 ... matched a career high by hitting safely in 13 straight games 8/18-31 ... homered in back-to-back games ... clubbed his third career lead-off homer on 9/24 vs. KC (off Tim Belcher).
1998 - Earned the Brewers Ignitor Award after posting an outstanding season in which he hit .311 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs ... led the club and set career highs in at-bats (637), runs (101), hits (198), doubles (39), hit-by-pitch (25), and stolen bases (22) en route to being selected as the Brewers' All Star representative in Colorado ... also led the team in triples (7) and set career highs in games (159), batting average, on-base percentage (.386) and slugging percentage (.427) ... combined with teammate Jeff Cirillo for 392 hits, the most by Brewers' teammates since 1989, when Paul Molitor (194) and Robin Yount (195) combined for 389 ... his lead-off on-base percentage (.387, 277-for-716) ranked him fourth in the National League ... finished the season ranked sixth in the N.L. with 60 multi-hit games ... had three or more hits in 16 games ... was third in the N.L. with a .360 (68-for-189) batting average with men on base ... hit .389 (42-for-108) with runners in scoring position, good for third in the N.L. ... his .350 (113-for-323) batting average on the road was the best in the N.L. ... posted a .986 (884 chances, 12 errors) fielding percentage at second base, good for sixth in the league ... broke a club record and tied with Atlanta's Andres Galarraga for second in the N.L. with 25 hit by pitches ... Batted .340 (35-for-103) with four doubles, two triples, three home runs and nine RBIs in the month of April ... went 4-for-6 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run scored 4/2 at ATL ... had a team-high five hits (5-for-5) 4/16 in a 14-inning marathon at MON ... hit in 13 consecutive games from 6/24 to 7/11, batting .422 (19-for-45) over that stretch ... hit .307 (31-for-101) with five doubles, two triples and two homers in July ... singled and walked in two plate appearances as the Brewers lone representative at the All-Star Game on 7/7 ... drove in three runs 7/18 with a 3-for-4 performance that included his fifth homer of the year ... stole a team-high two bases on two occassions, 8/9 at CIN and 8/24 vs. SD ... had a 14-game hitting streak from 8/16-30, tying him with Jeff Cirillo (5/15-31) for the Brewers' longest streak of the year ... was 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base 8/18 vs. CIN ... churned out four hits 8/20 vs. HOU, going 4-for-6 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.
1999 - Played just 37 games in an injury-plagued campaign. Batted .266 with one home run and 16 RBIS. Collected 14 walks and struck out only six times, giving him more walks (156) than strikeouts (152) over his seven-year career ... Was the Brewers Opening Day second baseman. Began the season on a tear, with five consecutive multi-hit games and an eight game hitting streak in which he batted .400 (14-for-35) ... Batted .307 (27-for-88) in the month of April ... Posted a .370 (17-for-46) batting average with runners on base ... Committed just one error (4/27 vs. LA) in 37 games at second base ... Received a two-game suspension for bumping umpire Mike Winters on 4/24 at PIT; served the suspension 5/25-26 ... Was injured on 5/9 at SF when he collided with rightfielder Jeromy Burnitz while chasing a short fly ball off of the bat of F.P. Santangelo. Suffered a contusion to the left quadriceps muscle and was placed on the 15-day disabled list on 5/14 (retroactive to 5/10). Was activated from the DL on 5/25 ... Hit safely in 24 of 30 games before the injury ... Played in seven more games before returning to the disabled list on 6/4 with a strained left quadriceps muscle ... Went on a 20-day rehabilitation assignment at Class A Beloit of the Midwest League, where he played in two games before being sidelined with patella tendinitis in his right knee. Missed the remainder of the season.
2000 - Spunky leadoff man provided aggressive play both at the plate and in the field. Finished among team leaders in hits (146 - 3rd) despite missing significant playing time due to assorted injuries ... His .300 batting mark led the team (min. 502 PA), the 2nd time in his career that he finished at .300 (He batted a career best .311 in 1998) ... Led off the game via hit, walk or HBP in 47 of his 118 starts (40%) ... Was hit by pitch for career high 28th time on 9/29 vs. CIN. His 28 HBPs were the most by a Cardinal since 1910, when Steve Evans was HBP a franchise-record 31 times, the NL record for a lefthanded batter ... He led all NL second basemen in fielding pct. with his .988 mark and he took part in 85 twin killings ... Was forced to go on the disabled list, 6/16 - 7/3, due to right hamstring injury ... He was also out of the lineup for 14 games due to left rib injury, returning on 9/19 ... On 5/24 vs. FLA, committed his 1st error in 60 games dating back to last season. He made just two errors through his first 100 games played ... Led the club with 10 bunt singles and 17 infield hits ... Hit his 4th leadoff HR 5/13 vs. LA & had 1st career inside-park HR on 5/9 at SF ... Matched a career high with 5 hits & 4 runs scored on 4/16 [2] at COL ... Went 4-for-6 with 2 triples and 2 runs scored 4/8 vs. MIL ... Had 3 hits, including a pair of doubles, in 6/17 win at LA ... His 2-out, 9th inning single delivered winning run in 2-1 victory vs. NY on 9/2 ... Had a career-best, and Cardinals' season-best 17-game hitting streak from 8/8-25. He batted .347 (25-72) during the streak ... Has more career walks (192) than strikeouts (188). He fanned just 36 times this season and had only three multiple strikeout games.
2001 - Fiesty leadoff man provided Cardinals fans with another fine season, posting a .303 batting average while reaching career bests in homers (9) and RBIs (56)...Won his first career Rawlings Gold Glove Award at second base...His .987 fielding percentage ranked first among National League second basemen, leading all second sackers with 705 total chances and 100 double plays...Hit .300 for the second consecutive season and the third time in his career...Finished among N.L. leaders in singles (144), triples (8), HBP (22) and hits (191)...Ranked as the second-toughest player in the majors to strikeout, doing so only 35 times in 690 plate appearances (once every 19.7 PAs). Colorado's Juan Pierre led the majors with a ratio of one whiff every 23.6 plate appearances...For his career Fernando has more walks (224) than strikeouts (223)...Led off the game via hit (44), walk (8) or HBP (6) in 58 of his 150 starts...Paced the club with 29 infield hits and 14 bunt hits...Of his 56 RBIs, 29 came with two outs...Compiled a .333 batting average in both the months of May (36-for-108) and August (42-for-126)...Had a pair of 10-game hitting streaks, from 6/30 to 7/13 and again from 8/17 to 8/26. Went 15-for-42 (.357) in both streaks...Posted his fourth career five-hit game (second as a Cardinal) and was a perfect 3-for-3 with runners in scoring position, including a 2-run triple, on 4/6 at ARI...Delivered the go-ahead run in the third inning with a run-scoring triple 4/11 vs. COL...Had three hits on 5/20 at PHI, including a game-winning home run in the seventh inning - his first HR of the year...Notched an eight-game hitting streak, 5/20-28. Batted .364 (12-for-33) during that stretch...Hit his fifth career leadoff homer on 6/21 vs CHI...Tied his career high with five RBIs 6/26 vs. CIN...Collected four hits on 8/8 at MON...Hit his fourth homer of the year and his second leadoff HR (sixth career) on 8/30 vs. SD...Was 4-for-5 on 9/9 vs. LA, with his seventh career leadoff home run (third of the 2001 season)...Poked his seventh homer in a 2-0 win vs. PIT on 9/29...Recorded his second career inside-the-park homer 10/2 at MIL, the first-ever inside-the-parker at Miller Park...Hit his career-high ninth home run on 10/6 vs. HOU.
2002 - Maintained his defensive excellence and won his second straight Rawlings Gold Glove Award at second base ... Ranked as the third-toughest player in the National League to strike out, doing so only 36 times in 692 plate appearances (once every 19.2 PAs) ... For his career, Fernando has more walks (268) than strikeouts (259) ... His 54 RBI were tops among N.L. leadoff batters (min. 125 games started at leadoff position) ... Finished second in the league by being hit by pitch 18 times ... Ranked among team leaders in hits (168), game-winning RBI (10) and stolen bases (17) ... Notched 46 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games ... Of his 54 RBI, 25 came with two out ... He reached base via hit or walk in 48 of his last 56 games and in 59 of his 70 games played following the All-Star Break. Had 37 hits in his last 33 games ... Had three hits on 4/17 at ARI, with a double, two singles, a walk and a stolen base ... His two-error game on 5/1 vs. FLA was only the fourth of his career, and first since 1998 ... Had a season-high four hits on 5/5 vs. ATL ...Went 2-for-4 on 5/12 at CIN and tied the game with an eighth-inning double down the rightfield line ... Scored three runs on 5/14 vs. CHI, going 3-for-5 with a go-ahead RBI bunt single ... Equaled his career high with five RBI on 5/26 at PIT and hit his second career grand slam ... Posted his 1,000th career hit on 5/28 at HOU ... Stole the 100th base of his career on 5/15 vs. CHI ... Reached base five times on 6/8 at KC, collecting three singles and two walks ... Had three hits on 7/21 at PIT, including a two-out RBI single for his 8th GWRBI ... Hit a game-winning two-run double in the ninth inning on 8/22 vs. PIT ... Had three hits and two RBI 9/19 at COL, including his 10th game-winning hit on an RBI-triple.
2003 - Limited to 61 games with the St. Louis Cardinals due to a torn tendon in his right hamstring ... Belted the third grand slam of his major league career May 9 at Wrigley Field, taking Chicago's Carlos Zambrano deep ... Posted a nine-game hitting streak May 20-September 2, batting .389 (14-for-36) with five runs scored, two doubles, two triples, a home run and an RBI ... Left the game on May 25 at Pittsburgh in the fifth inning with a right hamstring injury ... further examination revealed a torn tendon in his right hamstring and forced him to the disabled list on May 26 ... Underwent surgery on May 30 to repair the tendon ... Batted .310 (27-for-87) with 11 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBI in 22 games during May ... Assigned to Triple A Memphis for a rehab assignment, playing in five games August 23-27 before being reinstated from the disabled list on August 30 ... Collected a season-high four hits September 7 versus Cincinnati.
Personal - Graduated from Valley High School (Sacramento, Calif.) in 1987 ... attended Sacramento City College and Arizona State University ... played for Team USA that traveled to Cuba in 1989 ... at ASU he ranked third in the nation with 108 hits and captured the Pac-10 batting title in 1990, when he struck out only seven times in 279 at-bats ... he's extremely active in the community, taking part in Special Olympics programs and has made significant contributions to Cardinals Care ... was voted 2000 Comeback Player of the Year by the St. Louis Chapter of BBWAA ... has a 13-yr.old son, Jordan ... Parents: Andres and Olga Viņa ... Siblings: Jorge and Anna.
Viņa - Career Transactions
»» Selected by New York Yankees in the 51st round of the June 1988 free-agent draft.
»» Selected by New York Mets in the ninth round of the June 1990 free-agent draft.
»» Claimed by Seattle Mariners in the Rule V draft, December 7, 1992.
»» Returned to New York Mets by Seattle, June 15, 1993.
»» On New York disabled list (bruised right heel), May 22 to June 6, 1994.
»» On Norfolk disabled list (right ankle contusion), August 30 to September 6, 1994.
»» Traded to Milwaukee Brewers with catcher Javier Gonzalez, December 22, 1994, completing deal in which the Brewers traded pitcher Doug Henry for two players to be named later (November 13, 1994).
»» On Milwaukee disabled list (fractured left ankle), April 20 to July 17, 1997; included injury rehabilitation assignments to Stockton (July 9-11) and Tucson (July 12-17).
»» On Milwaukee disabled list (left quadricep contusion), May 10 to May 25, 1999.
»» On Milwaukee disabled list (strained left quadricep), June 5 to end of season, 1999; included injury rehabilitation assignment to Beloit (August 6-8).
»» Traded to St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Juan Acevedo and two minor league players to be named later, December 20, 1999.
»» On St. Louis disabled list (strained right hamstring), June 18 to July 3, 2000.
»» On St. Louis disabled list (torn right hamstring tendon), May 26 to August 30, 2003; included injury rehabilitation assignment to Memphis (August 23-27).
»» Signed by Detroit Tigers on December 17, 2003.
»» Placed on Detroit's 15-day disabled list (strained right hamstring), May 12, 2004.
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