MLB Hall of Fame: 10 current players who are locks
8. Felix Hernandez
Personally I think Clayton Kershaw is a better pitcher than Felix Hernandez, but of current pitchers in the game today, Hernandez has a longer track record, has amassed a set of amazing stats, and King Felix (as he’s affectionately known by his fans), just keeps getting better and better.
With a 2014 win-loss record identical to Kershaw’s at 11-2, Hernandez has an ERA this year of just 2.12 and a WHIP of 0.901. In his 10 year career to date, King Felix has an overall ERA of just 3.12 and an overall WHIP of 1.181.
| Year | Tm | W | L | ERA | SHO | BB | SO | FIP | WHIP | H9 | HR9 | BB9 | SO9 | SO/W | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | SEA | 4 | 4 | 2.67 | 0 | 23 | 77 | 2.85 | 0.996 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 3.35 | |
| 2006 | SEA | 12 | 14 | 4.52 | 1 | 60 | 176 | 3.91 | 1.335 | 9.2 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 8.3 | 2.93 | |
| 2007 | SEA | 14 | 7 | 3.92 | 1 | 53 | 165 | 3.75 | 1.377 | 9.9 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 7.8 | 3.11 | |
| 2008 | SEA | 9 | 11 | 3.45 | 0 | 80 | 175 | 3.80 | 1.385 | 8.9 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 7.8 | 2.19 | |
| 2009 ★ | SEA | 19 | 5 | 2.49 | 1 | 71 | 217 | 3.09 | 1.135 | 7.5 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 8.2 | 3.06 | AS,CYA-2,MVP-26 |
| 2010 | SEA | 13 | 12 | 2.27 | 1 | 70 | 232 | 3.04 | 1.057 | 7.0 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 8.4 | 3.31 | CYA-1,MVP-16 |
| 2011 ★ | SEA | 14 | 14 | 3.47 | 0 | 67 | 222 | 3.13 | 1.220 | 8.4 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 8.6 | 3.31 | AS |
| 2012 ★ | SEA | 13 | 9 | 3.06 | 5 | 56 | 223 | 2.84 | 1.142 | 8.1 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 8.7 | 3.98 | AS,CYA-4,MVP-22 |
| 2013 ★ | SEA | 12 | 10 | 3.04 | 0 | 46 | 216 | 2.61 | 1.131 | 8.1 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 9.5 | 4.70 | AS,CYA-8,MVP-22 |
| 2014 ★ | SEA | 11 | 2 | 2.12 | 0 | 25 | 154 | 2.02 | 0.901 | 6.5 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 9.6 | 6.16 | AS |
| 10 Yrs | 121 | 88 | 3.12 | 9 | 551 | 1857 | 3.14 | 1.181 | 8.1 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 3.37 | ||
| 162 Game Avg. | 14 | 10 | 3.12 | 1 | 65 | 218 | 3.14 | 1.181 | 8.1 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 8.5 | 3.37 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/12/2014.
As you can see from the table above, Felix Hernandez has also been an All-Star selection in 5 of his 10 years in the majors, won the Cy Young Award in 2010, was runner up the previous year in 2009, and has been a regular MVP candidate.
Like Kershaw, it’s too early to say King Felix is a lock for the Hall of Fame, but he’s not showing any signs of slowing down.
Sadly, one of the things that could hurt Hernandez is simply playing for the Mariners. No disrespect to Seattle fans at all, but the truth is that any player’s place in the history of the game is to some degree based on where he played, and how many times that team made a run at a series.
That said, Felix Hernandez could stay with the Mariners his entire career, and for me he’d still be a good candidate for a Cooperstown lock.