FELIX HERNANDEZ: HOW I PREP FOR MY NEXT START

Category: Top Stories

The Mariners' flame-thrower goes through his five-day routine.

At the age of 16, Seattle Mariner flame thrower Felix Hernandez was given a nickname by baseball scouts. They started calling him "King Felix." Like all kings, Hernandez has a throne he rules from. It's called the pitcher's mound.

Despite being just 24 year old, Hernandez is now in his fifth year as the ace of the Mariners pitching staff. It's a role he relishes and last year, he showed just why.

The Venezuelan had a break-out season, winning an AL-best 19 games against just five losses, posting a 2.49 ERA (2nd) and striking out 217 batters (4th). He made 34 starts and pitched 238 2/3 innings (3rd) . All were career highs for Hernandez, who was selected to the 2009 All-Star team and finished second in the voting for the AL Cy Young Award.

"The first three years I was here, the Mariners were very, very protective with me," said Hernandez, who made his major league debut in 2005 at the age of 19. "It was frustrating at first, because I'd been doing things my own way for many years, and all of sudden somebody else was making the decisions. I understood why though. Last year, they let me do more of my own thing, and gave me more say in things. It's worked out very, very well."

Hernandez, who is an imposing 6-3, 225 with a repetoire that includes a fast ball, changeup, slider and curve, was signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 4th of 2002.

He made 12 starts for the Mariners in 2005, and has made 30 or more in each of the last four years. He struck out a career high 12 batters in a game against Oakland in 2007 and later that season fired a one-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.

Last year, prior to the start of the season, Hernandez was given the opportunity he'd always dreamed of when he turned in his Mariner jersey for that of his homeland at the World Baseball Classic. He won both of the games he started in the tournament for his country.

"Wearing that uniform and representing Venezuela was a dream come true for me,"said Hernandez, who had been invited to join the squad in 2006, but did not at the request of the Mariners. "It was tough not going in 2006, but it all worked out for the best."

There are times when management asks Hernandez how he feels. It can frustrate the young star, but he is confident in what he is doing.

"I talk to my arm and ask it how it feels all the time," said Hernandez with a grin.  "I never really get too concerned with pitch counts, although everybody else does. Sometimes, I think people get too worried about that number. Last year, they started to let me go deeper every game. Even if it was 115, 120 pitches. I was fine with that too."

That said, Hernandez is worried about the toll on the arms of young players of today, and what they're being asked to do.

Hernandez is quick to caution that the routine he and other major league pitchers follow isn't similar to what a young pitcher should be doing.

"What I think young pitchers should be doing is throwing some innings one day, take a few days off, and then throw some more innings," he suggests. "This thought of having a young pitcher thrown two innings one day, two more the next and two the day after, I just don't agree with it. By the time a kid is 18, his arm is going to fall off. Those kids should be going easy. Those weekends can add up to a lot of innings for a young kid. They need to save their arms."

Coming off a season in which he threw almost 40 innings more than in any previous year, the Seattle coaching staff let Hernandez know he would be eased in to game shape this year.

"That's what they did with me this year during spring training. Rested me," he said. "The first three weeks of spring training, I only pitched 3 2/3 innings. I'm okay with it too. It worked out just fine."

 

Felix's day-by-day routine on how he prepares for his next start can be found in the July/August issue of Junior Baseball. Click here to order now!

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