Fans, analysts and general managers around baseball cannot seem to accept that Felix Hernandez may stay with Seattle. The fact that King Felix is the best young pitcher in the game and recently threw a perfect game does not neccessarily guarantee he will be pitching in a mega-market like Boston or New York at some point in the near future. The Mariners have their ace under control through 2014, and they are not looking to trade him in the meantime.
During an interview with Sports Radio KJR that the Seattle Times shared with us on Tuesday, the 26-year-old Hernandez discussed his future and reassured Mariners fans that he has no intention of pitching anywhere else.
“You guys will be happy,” Hernandez said when host Mitch Levy told him the fans in Seattle are nervous about his next contract. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Levy then asked Hernandez if he was willing to promise he will stay with the Mariners.
“Yeah, I promise,” he continued. “I’m not going nowhere. You’ve got to talk to (Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik) and all those guys over here.”
When Levy asked one final time for reassurance that Hernandez is not going to leave he responded by saying, “I don’t want to.” Obviously he is not going to stay with the Mariners if it means taking half the money another team is offering, but the fact that Felix was so quick to sign his last deal with the Mariners proves he is genuine when he says he enjoys pitching in Seattle. Believe it or not, there are instances when the game’s best pitchers don’t flock to Boston, New York, Chicago and L.A.
For those of you who are interested, here is the Hernandez interview. The “promise” talk starts up at about the 8:15 mark.
H/T Eye on Baseball
Photo: Joe Nicholson – US Presswire
