The Seattle Mariners haven’t had too much to celebrate since 2001, the last year they went to the playoffs.
They look likely to break that long postseason drought in 2022.
Despite their failure to play in October in recent years, they had some of the best players in the league at several points.
One of those players was definitely Felix Hernandez.
The right-hander took the league by storm in 2005, and dominated nonstop for 12 years.
His performance started to dip in 2016 and he hasn’t played since 2019.
He reached peak dominance in a six-year span between 2009 and 2014.
In 2012, he had the highest point of his career: throwing a perfect game.
Throughout history, a perfect game has occurred only 23 times.
A Cool Anniversary
Today, it’s the 10-year anniversary of Felix’s perfecto, the most recent such game in MLB.
“One decade later, King Felix still owns MLB’s most recent perfect game,” the Mariners’ Twitter account wrote, with a video of Hernandez’s incredible showing against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 15, 2012.
One decade later, King Felix still owns MLB’s most recent perfect game 👑 pic.twitter.com/xGsjP7FK3r
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 15, 2022
That day, Hernandez threw nine perfect innings with 12 strikeouts.
The Rays were overwhelmed by his brilliance: his stuff was still excellent, and he had the command of an ace.
Oh, and he was commanding and confident on the mound.
He was truly one of the best pitchers in the league.
Even with his four-year decline starting in 2016, his career ERA is an excellent 3.42.
Seattle fans remember his perfect game vividly, as it was yesterday.
He was one of the most beloved member of the 2000s and 2010s Mariners, a true fan favorite who had his own “court” of fans in the stands.
The fact that no perfect games have been thrown since then tells you everything you need to know about the level of difficulty of what he did.