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Why 'King Felix' Hernández will be bellwether for Baseball Hall of Fame's future

Published

11 months ago

January 12, 2025

Why 'King Felix' Hernández will be bellwether for Baseball Hall of Fame's future

Just 24, Hernández painted his masterpiece in 2010, setting career highs in innings (249 ⅔), WAR (7.2) and adjusted ERA (174). He was almost as good in 2014, posting career bests in ERA (2.14), strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (248, 9.5) in notching a second AL Cy runner-up finish, this time to Corey Kluber.Hernández was a six-time All-Star and two-time AL ERA champion, both coming in his most dominant seven-season stretch from 2008-2014, when he posted a 2.82 ERA over 230 starts and 1,595 innings, with a 3.5 strikeout-walks ratio. His 1,533 strikeouts are most in baseball in that span, and his ERA and adjusted ERA (138) are second only to Kershaw (2.48, 151).That leaves him with something of an incomplete resume. Hernández would be the only Hall of Fame pitcher in the modern era with an adjusted ERA as low as 117 and less than 3,000 innings pitched. While wins remain properly contextualized, they do him no favor here, either: His 169 wins and 3.42 ERA over 2,729 innings leave him short of the Hall by traditional metrics, while his adjusted ERA and 49.9 bWar put him squarely in a good-but-not-quite-enough neighborhood occupied by the likes of Roy Oswalt, Jamie Moyer and Mark Langston.A classic borderline case, Hernández should only see his support grow as the years go on. For now, any strong verdict on his fate is an awful lot like his case for Cooperstown: Incomplete.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Felix Hernandez Cooperstown case: 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame tracker

Felix Hernandez celebrates the final out of his perfect game in 2012.

While Hernández’s career partly predated those trends – or touched them at the very end – his run from 2005-2019 certainly spanned a period of time when pitcher evaluation greatly changed.

The case for Félix Hernández

[embedded content]No, the 15-year Seattle Mariners ace is among the first most notable tests to determine just what a Hall of Fame pitcher looks like in this ultramodern era.The 200-inning season is on life support. The 4,000-inning career exited when Randy Johnson did. The sixth inning increasingly is deemed too treacherous for starting pitchers.

The case against

Yet after they’ve given their speeches and accepted their plaques, what’s next?Cursed by a series of teams both middling and maddening, Hernández never pitched in a playoff game, as the Mariners won 86 to 89 games just five times in his 15-year career; that lack of exposure did no favors for a player located in the Pacific Northwest. Hernández did command the national zeitgeist when he pitched a perfect game in August 2012, to the delight of his King’s Court fan group at Safeco Field. Hernández made just 15 and 16 starts, respectively, in 2017 and ’19, and pitched to a 5.55 ERA over 28 starts in 2018. He was worth a combined -2.0 WAR in his final two years in Seattle before signing with Atlanta prior to the 2020 season. He opted out of the COVID year and spent spring training with the Orioles in 2021, but didn’t pitch in the majors again.

Oh, the coming years will bring plenty of aces whose stuff and statistics would’ve played in any era. Longtime teammates Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are locks – if they ever stop pitching. Clayton Kershaw, the greatest left-hander of his time, has built a case not dissimilar to that of his predecessor as a Los Angeles Dodgers legend, Sandy Koufax.

X factors

In Hernández’s first year on the ballot, he has received support on 24.6% of publicly revealed ballots, according to Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker. That’s well short of the 75% necessary for induction but would represent a modest start to the 10 years in which Hernández is eligible for the ballot.

Voting trends

Hernández won the 2010 American League Cy Young Award and narrowly missed winning the previous year. That he won in the season he posted a 13-12 record and finished second when he went 19-7 – behind 16-8 Zack Greinke – speaks to the shifting evaluations.

Bottom line

Now, his resume will get the ultimate scrutiny.The notion that life begins at 30 certainly doesn’t apply to Hernández; he hit a physical and performance wall right around that time. He made his last All-Star appearance at 29, in 2015, and was a roughly league-average pitcher the following season.

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Track and Field Wraps Season Opener

Published

8 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

NORMAN — The Oklahoma men’s and women’s track and field team closed out the OU Winter Field Fest on Friday night at the Mosier Indoor Facility, highlighted by 12 individual event wins.

Floyd Whitaker kicked off the meet with a personal-best jump of 16.40m (53’9.75″) to win the event title and mark No. 6 in the OU history books.

In the men’s weight throw, Brendon See tossed a personal-best 21.05m (69’0.75″), claiming the event title and moving his name up to No. 2 in OU history.

During her debut with the Sooners, Jacelyn Neighbors secured the women’s pole vault title, clearing 19.15m (62’10”).

In her first collegiate track meet, former OU volleyball player Hannah Pfiffner put up a stellar performance, clearing 1.79m (5’6.5″) in the women’s high jump, good for a personal best and tied for No. 7 in OU history.

Kennedy Clarke found success in the women’s weight throw with her mark of 19.15m (62’10”).

Breaking into OU’s top-ten performance list at No. 5, newcomer Kennedy Stringfellow marked 7.77m (25’6″) for the men’s long jump title.

OU’s Tucker Smith claimed the men’s shot put title with his toss of 18.65m (61’2.25″).

Sophomore Samuel Toili finished first in the men’s 60m dash with his personal-best time of 6.81. Newcomer Morgan Little stood out in her first performance for the Sooners, claiming the women’s 60m dash title and staking her name at No. 4 in the OU history books.

In her collegiate debut, freshman Kassidi Watkins claimed the women’s long jump title, marking 6.18m (20’3.5″).

Redshirt-freshman Tyley Dotson nailed a 15.20m (49’10.5″) in the women’s shot put, earning the event title.

Closing out the night, Trey Bartholomew cleared 6.18m (20’3.5″) in men’s high jump, earning himself the event title and moving his name up to No. 3 in the OU record book. Junior Tyson Ritz also etched himself into the history book at No. 9 with his clearance of 2.18m (7’1.75″).

The Sooners collected 26 more personal bests for a total of 34 on the day.

Following the completion of the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 6, Oklahoma returns to action on January 16 at home, hosting the Owen Hewett Invitational.

For more information on Oklahoma Track & Field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.

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Pitt Sweeps UMBC to Advance to 10th Straight NCAA Round of 32 Match

Published

9 minutes ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt volleyball team (27-4, 18-2 ACC) swept UMBC (13-12, 7-3 Big East) 25-10, 25-17, 25-13 on Friday night at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers set a program NCAA Tournament record with a .518 hitting percentage, and Olivia Babcock broke the single-season program kills record with her 546th of the year, surpassing Wendy Hatlestad’s mark from 2003. With the sweep, Pitt advanced to its 10th straight NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

Pitt opened the first set by building a 15-8 lead heading into the media timeout. UMBC used both timeouts during the next four-point run, sparked by kills from Abbey Emch, Marina Pezelj and Blaire Bayless. Babcock then delivered a 4-0 service run to secure the 25-10 win.

The second set followed a similar script, as the Panthers once again held a 15-8 advantage at the media timeout. UMBC called a timeout at 18-9 after kills from Bre Kelley and Bayless, but Pitt maintained control and closed out the frame, 25-17, on a Retriever hitting error.

The third set was tied 5-5 before Pitt surged ahead with a 7-2 run behind Brooke Mosher’s efficient, balanced distribution. UMBC called timeout at 17-9 in an effort to slow the momentum, but the Panthers continued to roll, taking the set 25-13 and completing the sweep.

Pitt returns tomorrow to face Michigan (22-10, 11-9 Big Ten) in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 at 7 p.m. The match will stream on ESPN+.

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Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Open Season at GVSU Holiday Open

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2 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College men’s and women’s track and field teams opened indoor season Friday at the GVSU Holiday Open. The competition marked the Hornets’ first track and field meet of any kind since 1980 for men’s, 1981 for women’s, and the first indoor competition since 1939 (men only).

Drew Abbott was the first competitor for Kalamazoo, finishing No. 10 overall and as the top Division III runner in the men’s one-mile run open field at 4:26.08.

In the men’s 400-meter dash, Bram Derksen posted a 53.87-second time, and Elliott Anderson ran his 400m in 55.33.

Allison Mayer became the Hornets’ first official women’s indoor track competitor by running a 10:54.84 3000m. Maya Alkema ran the 5000m in 18:37.56.

On the men’s side in the 5000m, Jack Schneider ran at a time of 15:56.47 and John Lonsway finished at 16:49.87.

Kalamazoo men’s and women’s indoor track and field will travel to Trine for the Sean Brady Invitational after the holiday break on Jan. 17, 2026.

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Nebraska volleyball begins national title chase with win over LIU

Published

2 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Related coverage in the video aboveNebraska volleyball hosted LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.Bergen Reilly to Andi Jackson and Nebraska was up 6-2.Jackson would later bump Nebraska’s lead to 15-9.A kill from Taylor Landfair ended set 1, giving Nebraska the 25-11 set victory.Rebekah Allick on the block, and it’s 3-0 Huskers in set 2.Allick and Jackson were leading the Huskers by the end of set 2. Nebraska defeated LIU 25-15 in the second set.A 4-0 run for the Huskers kicked things off in set 3.Nebraska was dominating LIU in set 3.Allick claimed match point for Nebraska.The Huskers got the 25-17 set win and the sweep over LIU.The Huskers will face Kansas State in the second round of the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

LINCOLN, Neb. —

Related coverage in the video above

Nebraska volleyball hosted LIU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.