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Monday March.11,  2013

Felix Hernandez has finished in the top 4 for AL CY Young Voting – including taking home the Award in 2010. He is 59 – 40 in the last 4 years,

By Jon Schifferle ( Mariners Correspondent – visit his own personal website here.) Follow @jonschifferle

Although many Mariners fans are already very excited about the Felix Hernandez deal (as they should be), there are a few reasons that some may not see.  There are very few true aces in the MLB right now, but the Seattle #1 pitcher is definitely one of them. This signing of the former AL Cy Young Award Winner was paramount to the teams long-term stability. 

This could have definitely proved detrimental to the franchise for ever signing a Free Agent again if they lost #34.  Having said this, if Hernandez goes down for significant portion of this contract term do to injury – it would obliterate the organization at a $25 MIL per year clip.  The future of the next decade is firmly held with the big man

Felix Hernandez Commercial:

Felix Hernandez has thrown over 230 + IP in the last 4 years straight – while Striking out over 200 plus in each season.

Felix Hernandez gives you that solid ace at the front of the rotation every single year.  When you have someone who can go out every five days, and give you a lot of quality Innings Pitched, that can give your bullpen a rest, and will aid you the other four days, even when he’s not out there, then that’s something! Hernandez has done this for the organization during the last half a dozen years. He can stop losing streak for the club or continue winning stretches.

Lets not all forget that the man draws 10000 more people to Safeco Field  every time he toes the hill!  They organization has even set up the KINGS COURT section in the Left Field Bleachers area.  The fans receive a crown and yellow King Felix T – Shirts.  These have been the most memorable games seen in Seattle of late.

KINGS COURT at Safeco Field – might be the loudest bunch of fans ever in Seattle for baseball.

Another thing that this deal does is help the young starters coming out of the Minor Leagues for the Mariners.  As I’m sure Mariners fans are aware of, the club is stacked with Starting Pitchers, that all have the potential to be above average Major League hurlers.  Setting their Major League Debut’s back with the big club gives them time to hone their craft – and be as season as they can be when the call does come.

When you have a guy like F Having King Felix as a sounding board. plus a mentor, will be a huge boost for advancing their careers more rapidly.

The most important thing it does for the Mariners is it shows that the management feels that they can compete in a very tough AL West division in the near future.  This should be a great sign for fans, because you don’t spend that kind of money on any player if you don’t expect him to get you to the playoffs at least in a few of those years.

This is an exciting time to be a Mariners fan, and hopefully this big contract turns into a Playoff Appearance in the next few campaigns.  Felix Hernandez will without a doubt be the most important individual on the Mariners when they eventually reach the playoffs.  It should be remembered that it may take a few years – but as a Mariners fan, you should enjoy the ride, because it will make the end just that much better.

Felix Hernandez has a 7 YR/ $175 Million Dollar Contract in his pocket heading into the 2013 season.  Will those years feature a Playoff Berth for the Mariners (1st time since 2001?)  The Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals (via Montreal Expos) remain the only 2 MLB  teams to never have played in a World Series.

***The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners***

A big thank-you goes out to Our ‘Mariners Correspondent’ Jon Schifferle for preparing today’s featured article. John is a college student that grew up in Northern California and he has been a Giants fan for as long as he can remember.  Two of his greatest memories were going to Game 1 of the 2010 World Series, and Game 2 of the 2012 World Series.  he loves to watch prospects and the draft, and started his own blog called A Giant Perspective here. 

John loves to write about all aspects of the game.   His dream is to eventually work in baseball in some capacity. Being a West Coast guy, he is able to watch all of the late games out there and have a vast knowledge of the AL and NL West especially.  Feel free to follow Jon on Twitter and talk about the game of baseball Follow @jonschifferle

Jon is on the left and his brother is on the right.

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