Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez Will Win 2014 AL Cy Young Award
By seanmeyers
@sdmeyers1
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Starter Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners was dubbed “King Felix” before he even threw his first pitch in the major leagues, but since his debut in 2005, he has more than lived up to the moniker. This season has been his best yet as he has rewritten the history books, and the King will soon capture his second AL Cy Young Award.
With less than two weeks remaining in the 2014 regular season, Hernandez ranks second in the league with a microscopic 2.14 ERA. No pitcher in the AL has finished with an ERA that low since Pedro Martinez in 2000. He is also tied for the lowest WHIP (0.92), is fourth in strikeouts (225), and has the best WAR according to ESPN (14.5). Although this is incredibly impressive, it doesn’t do Hernandez justice as the perennially weak-hitting Mariners have struggled to put on runs in many of his outings.
In addition to his sparking numbers, Hernandez has once again proven to be a workhorse. His 31 starts is just one back from the league leaders, and his 219 innings ranks only behind David Price for tops in the AL.
That ability to work deep into games combined with incredible effectiveness has allowed Hernandez to set one of the most impressive pitcher records in baseball history this season. King Felix produced 16 consecutive starts in which he pitched at least seven innings and allowed two runs or fewer. This streak, which spanned nearly three months, well surpassed the previous mark of 13 set by Tom Seaver in 1971. More impressively, Hernandez dwarfed the AL mark of 12, which was set in 1907.
While the Cy Young isn’t supposed to be contingent upon team success, there’s no question that many of Hernandez’s dazzling performances have come as the Mariners have fought for a potential playoff spot. Moreover, some of his finest efforts have come at the expense of two divisional foes, the AL powerhouses Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels.
Hernandez has a dizzying arsenal of pitches in his repertoire, highlighted by his changeup, which is arguably the best pitch in all of baseball. Hernandez also utilizes a four-seam fastball and a sinker, both of which average approximately 93 mph, as well as a curveball and a slider.
His ability to throw all of these pitches for strikes is nothing short of incredible, as he’s issued only 41 free passes, a career-low. As a result, Hernandez is sporting the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career while also allowing fewer hits per inning than ever before. All of this is even more mind-boggling when considering that King Felix has significantly improved upon his numbers from his Cy Young season of 2010.
Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox should also be recognized for his tremendous season, and will likely earn several votes for the award. Sale is the only pitcher with a lower ERA than Hernandez (1.99), and is tied with the Mariners’ ace for the lowest WHIP. Ultimately, Sale fails to stack up with Hernandez because he missed several starts early in the season. As a result, the White Sox’ lefty has only 163 innings, and his 12 wins put him in a tie for 19th in the league.
When the awards are handed out, there is no doubt that the AL Cy Young award will be headed to Seattle. 2014 will be remembered as perhaps the greatest season in the legendary career of Felix Hernandez.
Sean Meyers is a professional wrestling writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter and “Like” him on Facebook
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