Fernández began his career as a bright prospect for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but was not able to break into the lineup, with Pee Wee Reese at the shortstop position. On April 5, 1957, Fernández was traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Ron Negray, Tim Harkness, Elmer Valo, Mel Geho, $75,000, and a player to be named later (Ben Flowers). Fernández made his first appearance with Philadelphia on April 16, 1957. He was the Phillies\' regular shortstop for two seasons. In his first year with the Phillies, Fernández collected 131 hits (H), for a .262 batting average (BA), and a .302 on-base percentage (OBP). He also stole 18 bases, 5th best in the National League (NL). In 1958, Fernández stole 12 bases, placing him 9th-best in the NL. His batting average dropped over the next two seasons, and he saw limited playing time in 1959, hitting .211.\n', '

In December 1959, the Phillies traded Fernández to the Detroit Tigers, where he became the Tigers\' regular shortstop for the next three seasons from 1960 through 1962. In 1960, he led American League (AL) shortstops, with 34 errors; his fielding percentage was .947. By 1962, he increased his fielding percentage to .960. Perhaps more surprisingly, Fernández displayed power as a hitter, in 1962. After six seasons in which he never hit more than 6 home runs, Fernández socked 20 homers and tallied 59 runs batted in (RBI), that season. Both were career highs.\n', '

With a young Dick McAuliffe ready to assume the shortstop position for the Tigers, Detroit traded Fernández to the New York Mets, in May 1963. He played 58 games for the 1963 Mets. Fernández was then traded to the Chicago White Sox, in April 1964. Fernández never did appear in a regular season game, for the ChiSox. He finished his career playing in 1965 for the NPB Hanshin Tigers.\n', '

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