Throughout Mariner history, there have been kids, men and even a big unit. However, there will never be another King.
King Felix has been the face of the Seattle Mariners for quite a while now, and for good reason. He is one of the best players in Mariner history and certainly one of the best entertainers to ever don a Mariners cap.
As any good pitcher knows, it truly comes down to stats to see if you are the real deal or just another spot starter. While Felix may not be the best starter the Mariners have ever had (that title still remains and will remain to Randy “The Big Unit” Johnson), his stats show him as an All-Time Mariner great.
So far, King Felix has thrown 2214 career strikeouts, has a career ERA of only 3.13 and has won 149 games for a record of 149-105. Considering that he was playing for the Mariners for his entire career, that number is astounding.
The reason why that last stat is so astounding is because the Mariners, for years, have had trouble scoring runs at all when Felix was on the mound (more like when anyone was on the mound). In an article this April that did the math showing that Felix Hernandez is the “Unluckiest Player of All Time,” David Schoenfield of ESPN wrote, “Those 45 winless games account for 13.4 percent of his career starts.” These games are ones where Felix threw either no run, or one run gems, and still either lost or got the no decision. According to the article, these games accounted for 13.4 percent of all his games. That means that around one out of every 10 starts of his career, he has thrown a gem and not gotten anything for it.
Off of the depressing parts of Felix’s career, he is one of those players that doesn’t come by very often. He is a true pitching ace. He has been elected to the All-Star game six times, been in the Cy Young award voting six times including in 2010 when he won the award and has even been in the MVP conversation on a number of occasions.
One more thing that I would be remiss for not mentioning, is that he is one of 23 pitchers in baseball history to have thrown a perfect game. While winning a Cy Young award is an amazing achievement, pitching a perfect game has put Felix permanently in the record books.
It is easy to say that King Felix is a great pitcher when we look at the stats, but one of the best thing about Felix can’t be found on a stat sheet.
King Felix is very much a performer and a personality. While it is hard to see how this translates into how he is a good pitcher, Mariner fans truly know. The energy that surrounds the stadium when he is even approaching the mound is insane.
Seattle Radio Station 710 ESPN Seattle greets it’s listeners with “Happy Felix Day” when he is starting that day.
The biggest piece of fanfare for The King is the King’s Court. Every time he starts a game, there are two or more sections next to the left field foul pole that are designated as “The King’s Court” where fans that buy seats there are given a special shirt and a big plastic card that just says the letter “K” with a special design for Felix. Inside the King’s Court, other festivities happen, like giving out a turkey leg to a random fan and others.
As for the Hall of Fame possibilities, I am not sure yet. If I had it my way, I would say definitely, but we shall see. However, he will definitely be going into the Mariners Hall of Fame as soon as possible.
It is an understatement to say that Felix has captured the heart of Seattle Fans everywhere and that he will remain a piece of Mariner history that will never be forgotten.
He is the one, the only, The King.
