Poignant, without question. Wistful, most definitely. Everyone was feeling the gravity of the night, most of all Felix, who seemed intent on making it an interactive experience. One last time, he wore his intensity, and sentimentality, for the world to see, as raw and authentic as it could be.
And he tried to share all his feelings with the crowd. But happy? It was hard to embrace that emotion based on the way this relationship, once as mutually satisfying as any in baseball, is ending. Not with a bang or whimper, but a melancholy sigh. What was once unthinkable is now inevitable: The Felix Hernandez era, which glimmered with limitless possibilities for the franchise, is over. Call it irreconcilable differences. I came to the big leagues when I was The Mariners are in the process of a massive rebuild, one in which a declining year-old pitcher, even one as immensely popular and with such a long list of signature moments, no longer fits.
And if Felix is going to reinvent himself and continue his career — no guarantee at this point — he needs a new locale and new voices to shake him out of his malaise. You saw me pitch today. NFC East. NFC North. NFC South. NFC West. AL East. AL Central. AL West. NL East. NL Central. NL West. West Ham United Wolves. Virginia Tech Washington Wisconsin.
The memories you keep of Felix Hernandez are your own. Do you hold the pitching warrior, who pledged loyalty to an organization that wasted his prime but still found greatness when his playing environment screamed failure, close to your heart?
Hernandez will emerge from the bullpen Thursday night at T-Mobile Park. It will be his last time in a Mariners uniform as a player. There are too many layers, too many emotions, too much joy mixed with regret. Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below.
Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds. Close Cache Reset. Admin Edit Exit Admin. Log in Subscribe. My account Log out. Subscribe now. Yet the sobering reality of the end to this relationship became apparent three years ago. But it stuck. Fans reveled in it. Heavy was the crown and body for a pitcher not ready to be a king.
Redemption, at least with the Mariners, is no longer a possibility. The end is here. It may change with time. And the rest, is silence. The Spokesman-Review Newspaper Local journalism is essential. Sign up. Top stories in Seattle Mariners. To allow him to make one last start at the end of the year, the team decided to raise the limit to His regular-season innings were still the most on the team, and he finished with a 4.
His 12 victories and strikeouts also led the Mariner pitching staff. At the team's insistence, he did not pitch in the Venezuelan winter league, unlike his older brother Moises, a pitching prospect trying to crack the majors with the Atlanta Braves [12].
A Seattle Times profile of his life in Venezuela, with its relaxed daily routine, raised eyebrows among those who remained concerned about his conditioning. He then picked up a workout regimen, including an improved diet, daily running, and regular weight training , to lose about 20 pounds. He became the youngest pitcher chosen for this assignment since Dwight Gooden in He immediately justified it by pitching eight innings of a victory over the Oakland A's , in which he allowed only three hits and two walks while setting a career high with 12 strikeouts.
He was removed from the game because of increasing tightness in his right elbow , especially when throwing his slider. After undergoing an MRI exam that night, he was examined the next day by team physician Edward Khalfayan, who diagnosed the injury as a strained flexor-pronator muscle in his forearm. Two planned returns were put off as the team took a cautious approach in bringing him back, although it opted not to send him to the minor leagues for a rehabilitation assignment.
Instead he was activated from the disabled list May 15 and kept on a reduced pitch count initially. After a series of mediocre outings, he was able to boost his confidence with eight scoreless innings in a June 21 victory over the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates.
His victory over the New York Yankees on September 3 , in his first appearance at Yankee Stadium , stopped a nine-game Mariner losing streak, but was not enough to keep the team from falling out of playoff contention. His 3. Prior to the start of spring training, the Mariners and Hernandez were rumored to be in negotiations for a long-term contract that would buy out Hernandez's arbitration years. Hernandez showed up to spring training in his best shape yet.
He pitched his first complete game of the season on April 16 , , against the Oakland Athletics in a win. On June 17, Hernandez became the thirteenth AL pitcher ever to throw an " immaculate inning " striking out the side on the minimum nine pitches in an interleague game against the Florida Marlins.
On June 23, In his only plate appearance of the season, Hernandez hit his first major league home run , a grand slam , off Johan Santana of the New York Mets. Felix became the first American League pitcher to hit a grand slam since Cleveland's Steve Dunning hit one on May 11, , and was the first to do so since Interleague play began in
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