Felix Hernandez Extension
By: Zack Menchel
Even with Spring Training and the
2013 Major League Baseball season right around the corner, the Seattle Mariners
might not be done making national headlines this off-season.
The team is reportedly deep in talks
with three-time All-Star Felix Hernandez on a lucrative and lengthy contract
extension that would likely ensure the ace pitcher is a Mariner for life.
Initial reports indicating that
Hernandez and the Mariners had reached an agreement on a seven-year, $175
million deal through 2019 or a five-year, $135.5 million contract extension
starting in 2015 have been confirmed as premature.
Hernandez originally signed with
the Mariners as a gangly 16-year old kid out of Venezuela after catching the
eye of the team’s scouts. He signed his first professional contract with the
team following graduation from high school.
Hernandez debuted in Seattle during
the 2005 season as a flame-throwing, baby-faced 19-year old with an abundance
of curly hair bursting out of his trademark crooked ball cap.
Since then, the man affectionately
known by fans and media alike as “King Felix” has become the face of the
Mariners and is the namesake for the “King’s Court”, a special cheering section
at Safeco Field on days where Hernandez takes the mound.
At 26, Hernandez is coming off his
fifth straight season in 2012 with at least 200 innings pitched.
Hernandez threw the first perfect
game in Mariners’ history against the Tampa Bay Rays in August, striking out
12.
He went 13-9 and finished fourth in
American League Cy Young voting with a 3.06 ERA and 223 strikeouts.
Hernandez was the recipient of the
2010 A.L. Cy Young Award after posting 13 wins, a 2.27 ERA, and a career-high
232 strikeouts and 249.2 innings pitched.
On his career, Hernandez is 98-76
with a 3.22 ERA, 1487 strikeouts, and 1.22 WHIP in eight productive seasons in
Seattle.
Although the price will be steep,
locking up Hernandez’s services for the immediate future would be a monumental move
for a Mariners franchise that has been notoriously bad at holding onto its star
players and is struggling to keep butts in the seats of a beautiful ballpark.
The Mariners would be wise to not
allow Hernandez to join the ranks of Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez, and Ken
Griffey Jr. as home-grown talent and future hall of famers that left Seattle
due to failures to reach terms on contract extensions.
Without a contract extension, Hernandez
would be free to test free agent waters following the 2014 MLB campaign.
He would without a doubt be the
hottest commodity on the market and it would be difficult for the Mariners to
retain him in such a scenario.
Hernandez has been an endearing
figure to baseball fans in the Emerald City from day one with his passionate
displays of emotion and dominating presence on the mound.
The fact that he has openly expressed his
desire to stay put despite playing for one of baseball’s very worst teams over
the course of the last decade also speaks volumes to his character.
“I like Seattle and I want to help the
Seattle Mariners win a World Series,” Hernandez said at a news conference before
the All-Star Game last year.
“I believe in the organization. I believe
we’re going in the right direction. We’ll be better.”
Much like Griffey, Mariners fans
have taken pride in witnessing a young teenager emerge from the depth of the
team’s minor league ranks and develop into a budding star.
From supremely talented young
teenager to one of the game’s elite players, it’s easy to speak for all Mariners fans in
the sense that it has been a tremendous pleasure to have watched Hernandez
take the mound at the Safe for the past eight years.
Here’s to hoping the Mariners do
everything in their power to keep Hernandez in blue and teal and out of the
reach of the vulturous free-agent market.
After all, the Mariners are a
franchise that hasn’t participated in post-season baseball for over a decade.
They owe it to their fan base to
lock-up a fan favorite that just so happens to double as one of the game’s
premier players.
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