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Well-Traveled Hernandez Named New Manager of Beloit Sky Carp

January 13, 2022

BELOIT, WI – The inaugural, free Sky Carp Fest on Saturday at ABC Supply Stadium will feature new manager Jorge Hernandez, announced Thursday by the Miami Marlins to head the Beloit coaching staff for the 2022 season. An accomplished collegiate and professional baseball coach and former player, Hernandez, 55, a

BELOIT, WI – The inaugural, free Sky Carp Fest on Saturday at ABC Supply Stadium will feature new manager Jorge Hernandez, announced Thursday by the Miami Marlins to head the Beloit coaching staff for the 2022 season.

An accomplished collegiate and professional baseball coach and former player, Hernandez, 55, a Frisco, Texas resident, has been part of the Miami Marlins organization for the past 16 years.

He managed the Jupiter (Fla.) Hammerheads to a winning record in 2021 in the Low-A Southeast League on a team which featured two acclaimed prospects, shortstop Nasim Nunez and outfielder Victor Mesa Jr., both of whom are joining Hernandez at Sky Carp Fest from 2-4 p.m. to meet area baseball fans and sign autographs.

Nunez was the Marlins’ second-round draft pick in 2019 and bypassed a scholarship at Clemson to jump to professional baseball. Mesa Jr. was named Low-A Southeast All-Star Outfielder. Both are rated among the Marlins Top 15 prospects and will be part of an afternoon of family-fun activities at ABC Supply Stadium during Sky Carp Fest.

The two-hour experience Saturday will include a one-time-only, free chance to skate on the newly created, outdoor ice sheet, The Rink at ABC Supply Stadium, which is set to open Friday night.

The personable Hernandez will get a chance to introduce himself to the community at this event. Prior to his only season as skipper with the Hammerheads, Hernandez managed the Batavia (NY) Muckdogs in 2018-19 seasons in the former New York-Penn League.

He was also manager in 2013 with the Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. He was named the Miami Marlins Development Coach of the Year in 2009 and Gulf Coast League Manager of the Year in 2010. The Marlins and Sky Carp agreed to a 10-year Player Development License prior to the 2021 season.

Hernandez began his professional coaching career in 2004 with the Pensacola Pelicans, former Independent League team in the American Association owned by Quint and Rishy Studer, who are now co-owners of both the Sky Carp and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the Double-A South League.

In the collegiate ranks, Hernandez had stops as assistant coach at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, the University of Mobile (Ala.) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

As a player, he was a ninth-round selection by the Houston Astros in 1986, but chose to attend Troy (Ala.) University where he helped the Trojans win the 1987 NCAA Division II national championship.

Sky Carp Fest will include tours of beautiful, new ABC Supply Stadium, an opportunity to shop for all-new Sky Carp gear, sample new food items coming to the ballpark in 2022, along with playing various games for prizes. Children will be able to enjoy bounce houses and the entire family can lace up the skates and hit the ice at The Rink, which is set to open Friday night as a unique outdoor rink atop the synthetic outfield surface.

It promises to be a memorable day at the new stadium in a first-of-its-kind experience for everyone in the greater Stateline area.