clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

4/4: Open Game Thread

Felix Hernandez Vs. Cole Hamels

By Nathan Bishop

Well my goodness gracious we made it. After one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, an offseason of change and turmoil, we are here. In times of change and unfamiliarity we will often seek out something, anything that offers memory of the past. The soul needs a North Star to guide it through darkness.

Felix Hernandez is that star. He is the beacon, the guiding light that keeps us from crashing into rocky shores, the one point of hope and optimism that never quite went out. He's 30 in two days. Thirty years old, when I swear just a few years ago I sat in Cheney Stadium and watched a pudgy teenager with a hat that wouldn't stay on obliterate the PCL, and then come up to the majors, and set the world afire.

We will never appreciate Felix enough, not until he's gone. His consistency and durability are the qualities most easily taken for granted by the human psyche. Nonetheless, when his time in Seattle is done Felix will have set some amazing records. Consider just this one:

That's right in a few years Felix may take over a record from Walter "Big Train" Johnson, a man who pitched in an era when baseball had barely crawled from the primordial ooze.

There are so many other records he will set, so many other milestones he is going to achieve. When he's done he will have lapped the field as the greatest pitcher in Mariner's history. He is the one thing, the single entity, that kept us sane during the past decade. He stayed, for money yes, but also for us. He stayed for love.

I do not know what the 2016 Mariners will be. I hope they are good, and I am optimistic they finally have leadership in place to steer the organization to a place of consistent contention. What I do know is that no one, no fan, no coach, no executive, no announcer, deserves a season of unqualified success more than Felix Hernandez. Whatever this season holds we are already fortunate, because it is Felix, our King, who stands on the rubber on Opening Day.

Happy Felix Day. Let's kick some ass.

sunshine lollipops ogg

Lineups

Game Info

  • Mariners @ Rangers, 1:05 PDT PM, Globe Life Park
  • TV: ROOT/ESPN, Radio: 710 ESPN, Online MLB.TV
Win, ye fresh and unstained cherubs.

Felix Spin

More From Lookout Landing