Hernandez defended bunts by charging so aggressively that he occasionally discouraged opponents from attempting to bunt merely by reputation. Pete Rose, when he managed the Cincinnati Reds, compared bunting against Hernandez to "driving the lane against Bill Russell." Astros manager Hal Lanier said the combination of Hernandez at first and any one of three Mets pitchers— Ron Darling, Roger McDowell or Jesse Orosco— made bunting against the Mets "near impossible", and Cubs manager Jim Frey said he wouldn't ask most pitchers to bunt against the Mets. "You're just asking for a forceout at second, and now you've got your pitcher running the bases", he said. It wasn't just that Hernandez would arrive in front of the home-plate a moment after the pitch did. He had an uncanny feel for when the batter would attempt to bunt, therefore knowing when to charge in the first place. In the decades since Hernandez intimidated the opposition on bunt plays, no first baseman has yet managed to copy the move.