Félix Hernández talks Seattle Mariners HOF induction and more

The Seattle Mariners will be adding royalty to their Hall of Fame on Saturday when Félix Hernández officially takes his place as the 11th member of the Mariners Hall of Fame.

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Hernández was a superstar pitcher for the Mariners across 15 seasons, compiling a 169-139 record with a career 3.42 ERA and 2,542 strikeouts. Hernández holds franchise records for wins, strikeouts, innings pitched among other statistics, and he was also a six-time All-Star and the 2010 American League Cy Young winner. He also tossed the first – and only – perfect game in team history back in August of 2012 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Ahead of his induction ceremony, Hernández joined Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob live in front of many Mariners fans at Hatback Bar and Grille across the street from T-Mobile Park on Friday to discuss the honor, his career and more.

“It means a lot. It means something special to be part of the Hall of Fame, especially in Seattle,” Hernández said. “I consider this my house and I love this place.”

That drew some cheers from the crowd, leading Hernández to say, “I think I’m going to move back to Seattle again.”

Hernández said he learned about the call in a funny conversation with Mariners chairman John Stanton.

“When John called me, when John Stanton called me, he asked me, ‘Are you gonna play again?’ And I was like, ‘No, I’m done.’ I was like, ‘Do you want me to come back (and play)?’ And he was like, ‘No, it’s because we want to put you in the Mariners Hall of Fame,'” Hernández recalled.

The former ace then turned to the topic of the speech he’ll be giving in front of a soldout crowd.

“Pitching is easy. But this is a little hard for me,” Hernández said, later adding, “Hopefully I don’t cry. I don’t wanna cry. I don’t wanna be like a little baby crying and giving the speech.”

And of course, the topic of the King’s Court, a special crowd section devoted to Hernández on the days he pitched, came up.

“I fell in love with it,” he said. “The King’s Court was the best section in baseball.”

Hernández will also be getting inducted at a time the Mariners are red hot having won eight in a row to get back in the playoff race. The big reason why? The team’s pitching.

“They’re pretty good,” Hernández said of the M’s pitching staff. ” … I watch the Mariners all the time and watch the games. They’re pretty good. They’ve got a lot of talent.”

Listen to Wyman and Bob’s full conversation with Félix Hernández at this link or in the player near the top of this story. 

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