Oakland Athletics' Ultimate 'Moneyball' Team | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Venezualan ballplayers like Omar Vizquel, Bobby Abreu and Edgardo Alfonzo began seeping into the majors in the 1990s, but former GM Sandy Alderson was slow to hit the foreign market. Beane, on the other hand, eagerly dove into underscouted Latin America.

Hernandez joined the A's in 1999, and drove A.J. Hinch from the starting lineup a year later. While other executives looked for established defense-first backstops, Hernandez's bat was welcome in Oakland's lineup, and he ended up being a fine catcher for young aces Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito.