It is difficult to not wish a player like Justin Verlander success when he is on the mound. He is a class act and an absolute ace on the mound (not to mention he is a great asset to a fantasy team), but if anybody out there deserved a perfect game in their career, it was Felix Hernandez.
On Wednesday, Hernandez tossed a perfect nine innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. He threw 113 pitches and struck out 12.
The Seattle Mariners' broadcaster Dave Sims said it best, "You couldn't ask for a better guy to get it done."
Through the years, King Felix has maintained his faithfulness to the Mariners. He has always been one of the top pitchers of the league, despite having poor record after poor record. He is an All-Star and Cy Young Award winner.
He has never been to the playoffs and has never whined about not having a quality offense to get him there. Hernandez has been a part of numerous trade rumors throughout the years. Talks of him going to the New York Yankees come up every trade deadline, but Hernandez sits still.
Now, nothing against Justin Verlander, but he has had his share of accolades and has felt the adrenaline rush of the postseason. He was the 2006 Rookie of the Year and a member of the Detroit Tigers that ended up in the World Series.
Verlander was the 2011 MVP and Cy Young Award winner. His pitching, accompanied by Doug Fister, took the Tigers all the way to the American League Championship Series.
Verlander plays in a competitive team. They are always in the mix of World Series contenders and Verlander knows they are a few plays away from getting there. Verlander's drive is not perfection, but finally getting to the promise land and winning a trophy for the Tigers.
Felix Hernandez would love to be in this predicament, but he is not. He accomplished a personal feat that will go down in the history of the ballclub as their first perfect game.
Now what?
Hernandez will continue pitching until the remainder of the season. Verlander would love a perfect game, but with the postseason around the corner, he will take whatever comes his way.
Two no-hitters and plenty of other close calls are not bad at all Verlander.