Felix Hernandez Won’t Start Opening Day

Seattle Mariners’ picture Felix Hernandez has been a fixture in the team’s rotation for over a decade. He’s been such a vital part of the Mariners’ lineup that he’s been chosen to start on Major League Baseball’s opening day for ten consecutive years. That streak is now ending as ‘King Felix’ has been passed over for opening day in favor of Marco Gonzalez.

Hernandez has pitched very poorly this Spring but he’s of the opinion that even if he had been pitching well he wouldn’t have gotten the opening day start. Hernandez’s decade long Opening Day run is tied for the fourth longest ever. Jack Morris holds the record with 19 opening day starts. The last starter to take the mound on Opening Day prior to Hernandez was Erik Bedard.

Speaking the media, Hernandez confirmed that he was upset about not starting but elaborated very little saying simply:

“I knew it was going to happen.”

Hernandez is clearly on the downside of his career. He stepped in to the Mariners’ lineup as a 19 year old but he’s now 32. He’s been losing velocity on his fastball since his mid-20’s and has been hampered by injury over the past few seasons. He’s suffered from lower back stiffness, right bicep tendinitis, right shoulder inflammation and a strained right calf over the past three seasons alone. His ERA last season was a career high 5.55 ERA and he was removed from the rotation for a time. This is the final year of a $175 million seven year deal

Manager Scott Servais made the call to start Gonzalez on Opening Day and he said that it was a tough decision when asked to talk about Hernandez:

“It was a tremendous run, and he’s done awesome things. I just think where we’re at right now organizationally and where he’s at, he wants to have a big year and this does give him more time to prepare for his first regular-season start.But that doesn’t make it any easier. But again, we try to take as much of the emotion out of it as you can and do what’s best for our ballclub.”

The Mariners open their season in Japan on March 20 against the Oakland Athletics. Hernandez will pitch in an exhibition game in Tokyo against the Yomiuri Giants a few days prior.