The all-time single season performance Mariners rotation

The Seattle Mariners have had two Cy Young Award winners in their history, but there have been more than two great pitchers in franchise history. Building a rotation of the five greatest Mariners is straightforward, so I will be building a rotation of the five best single-season performances in franchise history. 

To avoid the rotation being filled with the same player multiple times, a player will only be represented once by their best season in the PNW.

Mariners 2014 Félix Hernández 

Choosing between the Cy Young 2010 and the ‘14 season was not a straightforward decision. In terms of WAR, his ‘10 season was move valuable (7.2 WAR to 6.4 WAR), and he actually won the Award for being the American League’s best pitcher, but a second-place finish in ‘14 is as close as you can get.

The reason that the non-Cy Young winning season is the choice is that King Félix’s stuff was better. He struck out batters at a higher rate, gave up fewer hits and even had a lower walk rate. 

In every rate stat, he was better, and with a lower ERA, winning more games and more, his ‘14 season comes in as the best of his career. 

Comparing the two years: 

2010: 13-12, 2.27 ERA, 249.2 innings, 1.057 WHIP, 7.0 H/9, 2.5 BB/9, 8.4 SO/9

2014: 15-6, 2.14 ERA, 236.0 innings, 0.915 WHIP, 6.5 H/9, 1.8 BB/9, 9.5 SO/9