Cy Young Profile: Felix Hernandez, 2010

Pitcher, Seattle Mariners

Age:  24 (April 8)

6^th season with Mariners

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 220

Prior to 2010:

A native of Valencia in Venezuela, Hernandez drew the interest of scouts as a 14-year-old with a 90 mph fastball. Signed by the Mariners when he turned 16 in 2002, he commenced his professional career in 2003 by pitching with two Class A teams where the 17-year-old compiled a combined record of 7-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 69 innings pitched. He also pitched winter league ball back in Venezuela with promising results. Advancing to the Inland Empire 66ers of the advanced Class A California League in 2004, he posted a 9-3 tally with a 2.74 ERA before being promoted to San Antonio of the Class AA Texas League where he went 5-1 with a 3.30 ERA. Moving up to Class AAA in 2005 with the Tacoma Rainiers, he spent time on the disabled list with shoulder bursitis and was 9-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched prior to being called up to the Mariners once recovered from the injury. The youngest player in the major leagues at the time of his Seattle debut, the 19-year-old who had already been dubbed “King Felix” went 4-4 in 12 starts with a 2.67 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 84.1 innings pitched. In his first full major league season in 2006, his record was 12-14 with a 4.52 ERA and 176 strikeouts. Hernandez lowered his ERA to 3.92 in 2007, also producing a 14-7 tally with 165 strikeouts while pitching 190.1 innings. His ability with a fastball, sinker, slider, changeup, and curve, inspired much praise but he sometimes had difficulty with consistency. In 2008 his record dropped to 9-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 175 strikeouts over 200.2 innings. In a rare batting appearance he hit a grand slam against the New York Mets, the only home run of his career. Hernandez had a strong season in 2009, producing a 19-5 tally and a 2.49 ERA along with 217 strikeouts in 238.2 innings pitched. He placed second in AL Cy Young Award voting.

2010 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 34 [1, tied with C.C. Sabathia & Jered Weaver]

Complete Games – 6 [3]

Wins – 13 [18, tied with seven others]

Losses – 12 [15, tied with eight others]

PCT - .520

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1 [3, tied with eighteen others]

Innings Pitched – 249.2 [1]

Hits – 194 [15, tied with Nick Blackburn]

Runs – 80

Earned Runs – 63

Home Runs – 17

Bases on Balls – 70 [16, tied with Max Scherzer & John Danks]

Strikeouts – 232 [2]

ERA – 2.27 [1]

Hit Batters – 8 [14, tied with five others]

Balks – 1 [16, tied with many others]

Wild Pitches – 14 [3]

League-leading inning pitched were +12 ahead of runner-up C.C. Sabathia

League-leading ERA was -0.06 lower than runner-up Clay Buchholz

Midseason Snapshot: 7-5, ERA - 2.88, SO - 131 in 137.2 IP

---

Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 8 IP) vs. Oakland 8/10

10+ strikeout games – 3

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at NY Yankees 6/30, (in 8 IP) vs. Chi. White Sox 7/21, (in 8 IP) at Toronto 9/23

Batting

PA – 4, AB – 2, R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 1, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 2, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 54

Put Outs – 15

Assists – 37

Errors – 2

DP – 2

Pct. - .963

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

16^th in AL MVP voting (6 points, 2% share)

AL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

Felix Hernandez, Sea.: 167 points – 21 of 28 first place votes, 85% share

David Price, TB: 111 points – 4 first place votes, 57% share

C.C. Sabathia, NYY: 102 points – 3 first place votes, 52% share

Jon Lester, Bos.: 33 points – 17% share

Jered Weaver, LAA: 24 points – 12% share

---

The Mariners went 61-101 to finish fourth (last) in the AL Western Division, 29 games behind the division-winning Texas Rangers. The pitching staff led the league in complete games (11). The offensively-challenged Mariners (despite the presence of consistent hitting outfielder Ichiro Suzuki) were 19-31 by the end of May, and went 42-70 the rest of the way, providing little run support for Hernandez, who still excelled due to his fine ERA and strikeout ratio.

Aftermath of 2010:

Hernandez followed up with another solid season in 2011, still dealing with an offensively challenged club that limited his record to 14-14 with a 3.47 ERA and 222 strikeouts. His 233.2 innings included five complete games. His 2012 season was highlighted by a perfect game against Tampa Bay, one of his league-leading five shutouts. Seattle ranked at the bottom of the American League in scoring, although fourth in ERA as Hernandez posted a 13-9 tally with a 3.06 ERA and 223 strikeouts in 232 innings pitched. In the offseason the Mariners signed him to a seven-year $175 million contract extension. With the club having reconfigured Safeco Field to make it more hitter-friendly in 2013, Hernandez remained solid, going 12-10 with a 3.04 ERA and 216 strikeouts for the fourth-place team. He broke out to an 8-1 start in 2014 on his way to a final record of 15-6 with a league-leading 2.14 ERA as well as 248 strikeouts in 236 innings pitched. He placed second in AL Cy Young balloting and was named AL Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In 2015 the 29-year-old Hernandez became the fourth youngest pitcher to reach 2000 career strikeouts while producing an 18-9 tally and 3.53 ERA with 191 strikeouts while totaling 201.2 innings. In 2016, hindered by a calf injury, “King Felix” dropped to 25 starts and 153.1 innings. His record fell to 11-8 with a 3.82 ERA and 122 strikeouts. Hernandez had two stints on the disabled list in 2017, and limited to 16 starts and 86.2 innings, finished at 6-5 with a 4.36 ERA and 78 strikeouts. The decline continued in 2018 as the no-longer king-like Hernandez compiled an 8-14 tally with a 5.55 ERA and 125 strikeouts over 155.2 innings. Limited by injury to 15 starts in 2019, he went 1-8 with a 6.40 ERA. A free agent in the offseason, Hernandez signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves but chose to opt out due to the pandemic in 2020. Failing to catch on with Baltimore in 2021, his career came to an end. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Mariners, Hernandez compiled a 169-136 record with a 3.42 ERA, 25 complete games, 11 shutouts, and 2524 strikeouts in 2729.2 innings. A dominant pitcher at his best, performing with a typically mediocre team, he never appeared in the postseason. “King Felix” was a six-time All-Star and received Cy Young Award votes six times, including the one win. Highly popular with Seattle fans, he had a special cheering section at Safeco Field that was called “the King’s Court”. He was elected to the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2023.

---

Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.