Despite the immense distance from the nearest piece of continental mainland, Hawaii is brewing with a vast pool of talented people, from musicians, actors & actresses to politicians & athletes. It’s only proper that we pay respects to some of these people who made a name for not only themselves, but for our state. Take for instance Sid Fernandez, more known as El Sid who was a well known Major League Baseball player. Sid was a lefty (pitcher) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles and eventually the New York Mets. El Sid was born in Honolulu & is also a Kaiser alumni. Fernandez wore the number 50 on his jersey in honor of the 50th State and one could often hear the “Hawaii 5-0” theme song playing at the beginning of every game at Shea Stadium. Sid also had an unconventional style when it came to pitching which was very misleading to those who stood before him at the batter’s box, which gave him a significant threatening quality when it came to strikeouts. Sid’s culminating legacy ended with the New York Mets in the late 80s, ending the 1989 season with a 14-5 record, which was best in the National League and “ranked in the top ten in the league in several categories including ERA, strikeouts, hits per nine innings, strikeouts per nine innings & strikeout-to-walk ratio.” You can read a recent article The Advertiser wrote right here.
To celebrate El Sid’s illustrious career, we put together a shirt and Kamehameha custom. The tee depicts Sid on the pitcher’s mound in his strikeout-ready stance with subtle hits of the infamous New York Mets colors (blue & orange). The left sleeve features the crown & crest, while the right sees the Hawaiian flag. The back sees the number 50 with Homegrown across the top in the style of sports jerseys. The Kamehemeha is also run in the Mets’ colorways with white pinstriping and a green underbill.
