Baseball Career

Rogearvin Argelo "Roger" Bernadina AKA "the shark" (born June 12, 1984) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals. He was signed at age 17 as a nondrafted free agent in 2001.

Bernadina was called up to the major leagues the first time on June 28, 2008, to replace the injured Lastings Milledge. His major league debut came the next day, and he hit a single to right field in his first major league at bat.

Bernadina started 2009 in the minors, but was called up on April 15, 2009. After appearing in two games, he made his first start of the season on April 18. In the eighth inning, he "made a spectacular catch against the wall" against the Florida Marlins but fractured his right ankle.[1] His walkup song is "My Time" by Fabolous.

On May 12, 2010, Bernadina hit his first and second big league homers against the New York Mets. The second came in the ninth inning off Francisco Rodriguez, giving the Nationals the lead in a game they would ultimately win.[2] He also made a remarkable leaping catch in right field that likely robbed Met Jeff Francoeur of a bases-clearing triple

Fun Facts

Many scouts[who?] have stated that Bernadina has a very similar playing style as former Washington Nationals outfielders Willy Taveras and Nook Logan.

Roger Bernadina is nicknamed "The Shark" due to the way he hunts down balls in the outfield like a shark going after its prey. Dedicated fans occasionally wear shark costumes to games. Recently on August 3rd, 2012 in a home game against the Miami Marlins, a trio of shark fans were spotted down the first base line who dubbed themselves the 'shark tank'.