By Judie Glave
Associated Press Writer
Friday, October 23, 1998; 12:35 p.m. EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Yankees pitcher Orlando ``El Duque'' Hernandez had not seen his mother or daughters since he defected from Cuba on a rickety raft 10 months ago.

Early this morning, the reunited family hugged and wept at a New Jersey airport while friends stood by with bottles of champagne.

``I am very happy that I will be able to see my dad. I have missed him,'' Hernandez's 8-year-old daughter, Yahumara, said during a stop to change planes Thursday at Miami Internatinal Airport.

She and her 2-year-old sister, Steffi, both wore Yankees T-shirts.

Hernandez's mother, two daughters and ex-wife arrived at Teterboro Airport at 2:45 a.m. on owner George Steinbrenner's private jet.

State Department officials and others said the family left the island with the Cuban government's blessing for what is expected to be a brief stay.

They arrived just in time for the celebration down Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes to commemorate the Yankees' World Series victory over the San Diego Padres.

``I'm very happy. I'm very proud of my son,'' said Maria Julia Pedroso Cruz, 52. ``He hasn't changed, in spite of the fact that he has all that money.''

Since Hernandez left, she said, ``it has been very difficult for us, but we have survived the situation.''

Hernandez, who signed a four-year, $6.6 million contract with the Yankees in March, was banned from playing in Cuba for dealing with American major league scouts.

He fled on a raft with his wife, Noris Bosch, and six others in December. They landed on a remote Bahamian island and were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Hernandez became a key member of the Yankees pitching staff, helping them to a 9-3 victory Sunday. The Yankees completed their sweep of San Diego in the World Series on Wednesday.

Hernandez had asked Cardinal John O'Connor for help bringing the family from Cuba, said Joe Zwilling, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The cardinal sent a message to Cuban President Fidel Castro, and the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations called O'Connor late Wednesday and said the visit was a go, Zwilling said.

The cardinal called Steinbrenner during the first inning of Wednesday's game to give him the news, and the owner arranged the plane ride.

Hernandez's half-brother, Livan, also played baseball in Cuba and defected during a team trip to Mexico in 1995. He was the 1997 World Series most valuable player for the Florida Marlins and his mother -- who is not Orlando Hernandez's mother -- was allowed to fly from Cuba to Miami to visit him just before Game 7.