Felix Hernandez and the Power of a Superstar

Jul 13, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; The King

Every sport has superstars. In basketball there are guys like Kobe and LeBron. In football the Peyton Manning’s, the Tom Brady’s, the Richard Sherman’s.

They can quickly and pervasively become the faces of the sport. The apple of the media’s eye. The real attention-getters.

In baseball it is an entirely different beast.

Sure there are baseball legends like Derek Jeter and supermodel-dating pitchers like Justin Verlander. But in the world of baseball the superstar status– and the marketability of that status– is married to the team.

Guys who stay with one team for a whole career– like Edgar Martinez did in Seattle and Cal Ripken, Jr. in Baltimore– establish themselves as someone supreme in their cities, with their fans.

It is so rare for a player to stay with one team for their whole career, even when they are a superstar and their brand, their image, is so entrenched in that uniform (Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols, anyone?).

As of today, for the Seattle Mariners, there is a player who has that superstar status across the game, and that marketability in his local fanbase. That man is, of course, King Felix Hernandez.

His power as a superstar has buoyed the sinking ship that has been the Mariners in recent seasons. His likability as a player, as a person, has already made him a legend in Seattle.

Jan 18, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Aerial view of CenturyLink Field (right) and Safeco Field in advance of the 2013 NFC Conference championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

From 2009-2013 Felix was an All-Star four times– and the only time he wasn’t, in 2010, he won the Cy Young with a 2.27 ERA and a 13-12 record. He has been the Mariners darling, especially since Ichiro was traded to the Yankees.

And in recent years, with his national notoriety peaking on August 15, 2012– when he threw the 23rd perfect game in baseball history– Felix has become the superstar the Mariners have always dreamed of.

It was on May 28th, 2011, that the King’s Court debuted in section 150 of Safeco Field. Crazy fans, donning gold Felix Hernandez shirts, stood and cheered with every two-strike count. “K! K! K! K!”

When Felix buckled the knees of the batter– which over his career has come at an 8.4 per nine innings clip– the Court erupts in his honor.

In Seattle he is King. In Seattle he is loved, adored, treated like royalty. Safeco Field is his palace.

Even now, the Mariners are in the process of deciding the next round of regal Felix apparel.

And Felix loves it in Seattle. He loves the fans, their support. He loves the team around him. If he didn’t he wouldn’t have singed a 7 year/$175 million contract extension, one of the 11 most lucrative contracts in baseball history.

For 11 years he has rewarded Mariners fans with something to cheer about. And the Mariners in turn rewarded him with the money he so well deserves.

Having now spent 8 full seasons in Seattle, with six more years to go, he has a chance to become one of the few lifers in baseball history. And we should all hope he does, because he is the best thing to happen to the Mariners in a very long time.

Jul 29, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez (34) pitches to the Kansas City Royals during the 6th inning while Hernandez fans in the kings court hold up “K” signs during the 5th inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Felix makes Mariners fans laugh, cry, shout for joy. He has kept a Mariners team afloat that, without him, would have been so far from relevant these last few seasons. But now, with Robinson Cano in the fold and a bevy of young talent waiting to take that leap, Mariners fans can, maybe, start to hope that the future is brighter.

But if nothing else, Felix will always give fans someone to root for, someone to call a superstar, someone the Yankees didn’t buy from us.

He makes commercials like King Felix’s High Heat Hotsauce. He smiles and bows to the Supreme Court crowd after his perfect game. He cries when he signs his contract extension with a city he genuinely loves.

The Mariners need Felix. And in a funny sort of way, Felix needs the Mariners too. If they can ever find a way to win a World Series together, he will be the face of that first championship. He will be the face of baseball success in Seattle.

It is so clear that Seattle fans are willing to go crazy in support of their teams. Look at the Seahawks and their fans right now.

If the Mariners can find a way to be in the playoff hunt after the all-star break, that could happen for them too. There is something magical about having a city rally behind a team that wills itself to win. Remember 1995?

And when the Mariners finally do win it all, Felix will be around for it, there is no doubt in my mind.

When he leaves the Mariners, it will be with the tip of his cap and a humble bow, being pulled out of his last Major League game some years from now.

Felix will be a Mariner for life– you can take that to the bank. It sounds absurd to say it now, when he is only 27, but mark my words.

He and the Mariners have a special bond, a bond only formed between superstars and a city that desperately wants them.