Gary Armida's Blog
Felix Hernandez is exactly why Major League Baseball will always survive. On a day when the Commissioner’s Office had to announce another drug suspension, the game on the field took over. Felix Hernandez, Seattle’s King, became baseball’s king by pitching the third perfect game of the season and the sixth no-hitter of 2012. The 26 year old right hander re-wrote the headlines on a day when another black mark threatened to take over.
The headlines weren’t the only things he re-wrote.
I was in the middle of an intense tea party with my four year old daughter when an alert came through that Hernandez was perfect through six innings. After a particularly challenging day, I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see it. But, my daughter has the beginning of a bond with baseball. She loves going to minor league and independent league games.
“Em, Felix Hernandez is pitching a perfect game.”
“What did you say?”
“Felix Hernandez has gotten all of the Rays out so far. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Can I watch it?” she asked.
And, there it was. Hernandez was on the mound for seventh. Sam Fuld was at the plate. He grounded to second for the out. Then, BJ Upton grounded to short. Joe Maddon came out and argued. He was ejected.
“Why is he mad, daddy?”
“He’s just frustrated that his team can’t get a hit. He’s usually a pretty nice man to everyone.”
“Can I get frustrated like him?”, she asked.
“No, baby girl.”
Matt Joyce grounded to first base to end the inning.
It’s difficult to believe that Hernandez is just 26 years old. It feels like he has been pitching forever. That’s because he has been on a Major League mound since he was 19 years old. He took a while to catch up on his promise. At 20 years old, he pitched to a 4.52 ERA in 191 innings. He improved in each of the next two seasons and was poised to make the jump from prospect to elite Major League pitcher by the time he was 23 years old.
He more than made the jump as he finished second in the Cy Young Award voting in 2009. Ironically, he would lead the league in wins with 19 and would finish with a 2.49 ERA, a league best 7.5 H/9, and 8.2 K/9 in 238.2 innings. Zack Greinke would beat him out for the award in one of the first award votes that didn’t put a premium on the win total.
Hernandez would benefit from that the following season as he won his first Cy Young Award despite having just a 13-12 record. Hernandez was clearly the best pitcher in the league, but was pitching for one of the worst offenses in the sport. He followed up his award winning season with another dominant year in 2011. This season, he is putting together yet another elite season. Heading into Wednesday’s start, Hernandez had a league leading three shutouts.
With his perfect game, Hernandez is now 11-5 with a 2.60 ERA. In a league leading 180 innings, he has averaged 7.2 H/9, 0.6 HR/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 8.7 K/9. His 2.86 FIP is a career best and he is already a 5 WAR player. He is just as dominant as Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver, and any other star pitcher in the game.
Hernandez came out for the top of the eighth inning to face the heart of the Rays order --Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist, and Carlos Pena. The Rays aren’t an offensive juggernaut, but Longoria is, by far, their best hitter. Zobrist is a selective hitter and Pena is patient with some power. If the Rays were going to get on base, this was their chance.
The Rays are an interesting team. Since changing their name from the Devil Rays to the Rays in 2008, they are 431-334 along with three playoff appearances and one American League pennant. They are a pitch-first team with a group of talented starters who can mask offensive inefficiencies and keep the bullpen effective. For all of their team success, the Rays have had three perfect games thrown against them in the past four seasons. In total, they’ve had four no-hitters pitched against them in the past four seasons. It’s odd for a perennial playoff team to have some sort of no-hitter thrown against them each season.
Perhaps Hernandez’s gem is a good sign for the Rays as they are in the thick of the Wild Card race?
Hernandez struck out the side in the eighth, getting them all to swing and miss. It looked good, but the drama of a 1-0 ball game, a perfect game--the first in Mariners history--was looming as the Mariners took their final hacks against Kyle Farnsworth, who was on to relieve Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson pitched seven dominant innings, but he was being bested by one of the game’s best.
“Daddy, what’s a perfect game?”
“It’s when the pitcher doesn’t let any runners get on base.”
“Is he going to let them on base?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why doesn’t he want to let them play?”
“Sometimes a pitcher is just too good and they can’t hit.”
“Is Felix like CC Sabathia?”
“He’s a little better honey.”
“Oh wow Daddy.”
Hernandez came out for the ninth. He hopped over the foul line and began to toss his warmup pitches. His brilliance has been somewhat masked by how poorly the Mariners have played over the years. Win totals are not a valid way to judge a pitcher, but the win total is one of the biggest grades as to whether or not a pitcher gets into the Hall of Fame. The strides made in the mainstream when it comes to evaluating pitchers has been great, but Hernandez’s run support has really suppressed his record. This season looks like it will be just the second season in his eight year career that he will win more than 14 games. If he pitches another 10 years, he’ll be just 36 years old. Maybe he gets a few more years. But, maybe he gets hurt at some point, so 10 years is a good jumping off point.
Let’s say that he duplicates his career to this point. That would mean he would pitch over 2,800 innings, give up 2,600 hits or so, and have over 2,500 strikeouts. His career ERA right now is 3.22 so add or subtract a couple of points. His WHIP is 1.219 and his career FIP is 3.29. But, his record would be something like 174-136. That’s just doubling his record for a 16 year career. If he plays another couple of seasons, he may just crack 200 wins.
Wins aren’t an accurate measure of a pitcher. There isn't any dispute. But, other than Sandy Koufax, Dizzy Dean, and Candy Cummings, find one career starter with less than 200 wins in Cooperstown. Will Cooperstown voters be able to distinguish Hernandez’s greatness from his win-loss record? Will they be able to see just how terrible the Mariners’ offense has been?
Hopefully, playing his career in Seattle won’t hurt his legacy because his first half has been nothing short of spectacular.
Hernandez took a deep breath and faced Desmond Jennings, who was pinch hitting. Jennings struck out swinging. Jeff Keppinger came on to pinch hit for Elliott Johnson. Keppinger grounded to shortstop Brendan Ryan, one of the surest fielders in the game for the second out. All that stood between Hernandez and history was Sean Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has a little power, but he isn’t a big threat. Hernandez threw two pitches for balls. The tension was mounting. Hernandez stepped back, took a deep breath, and took the sign from catcher John Jaso, a former Rays player. Jaso called for a slider on 2-0, a somewhat risky call. It turned out to be brilliant as it froze Rodriguez and came across for a strike. That seemed to calm Hernandez as he dropped in two more strikes to end the game on a called strike three.
With that, Hernandez etched his name in Major League Baseball history as he completed the 23rd perfect game in the sport’s rich history. He also pitched the third of the 2012 season, which is the most of any one season. On the day, he finished with 12 strikeouts, including two innings when he struck out the side. The man known as King Felix was able to take what could have been an ugly headline day and turned all of our attention back to the field.
Baseball can survive anything.
“Was he perfect daddy?”
“Today he was baby girl.”
“He looks happy. Why do they call him King?”
“It’s just a nickname. Hey, you saw your first perfect game.”
“Cool. Can I get an Italian ice?”
Felix Hernandez accomplished quite a bit during his perfect game. He gave Mariners fans something to really celebrate. He made history. He saved the headline for the day from being completely negative. And, he allowed a father and daughter time to see history and talk about it--and many other things-- over an Italian ice.
It was, in every sense of the word, perfect.
# 2
goalieump413 @ Aug 16
Here in Seattle, we knew Felix would someday pitch a perfect game. His command of 4 pitches, tons of movement, and his established reputation around the league as a fierce competitor and great teammate are just the sort of thing that rebuilds faith in baseball.
The Rays were swinging at bad pitches too. They looked utterly lost.
The Rays were swinging at bad pitches too. They looked utterly lost.
# 3
jmik58 @ Aug 16
Fantastic write up Gary. As a father of three boys (the oldest almost 7 yrs old) I really relate to the way you documented the moment.
Gary Armida
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