Seattle Mariners: History of Starting Pitchers, Part 2

Today, we continue our look back at the history of starting pitchers in Seattle Mariners’ history. Up first, the King.

The 2005 season was the arrival of 19-year-old  Felix Hernandez. He had a record of 4-4 starting 12 games with an ERA of 2.67. In 2006 and 2007, he pitched 191 and 190 inning each. Then Felix went eight straight seasons of going at least 200 innings.

In 2009, King Felix had a record of 19-5 with an ERA of 2.49. He didn’t win the Cy Young Award until the next season when he had a record of 13-12 along with an ERA of 2.27. Many of his losses over the years happened because he didn’t have enough run support.

On August 15, 2012, Felix threw his perfect game.

The last two years Felix has struggled on the mound. He doesn’t look anything like the King. In 2017,  he only started 16 games due to injury, going 86 and ⅔ innings. Last year, he went 8-14, which was his first losing season since 2008, when he went 9-11.

This year will be the last year of Felix’s contact. With the rebuild, no one expects the King will return next year.