Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez throws against the Texas Rangers on Aug. 29, 2019, at Globe Life Field. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Here's How Felix Hernandez Did in First Year on Hall of Fame Ballot

Originally posted on Seattle Mariners on SI
By Teren Kowatsch | Last updated Jan 23, 2025 5:15 PM ET

The Seattle Mariners will have another franchise great enshrined in baseball immortality when Ichiro Suzuki gets inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27.

Suzuki was announced as one of three 2025 inductees alongside CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner on Jan. 21. It was Suzuki's first year on the ballot. On the same day, the Mariners announced that they would retire Suzuki's No. 51 jersey before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 9.

But Suzuki wasn't the only Seattle great that was on the 2025 ballot for the first time.

The longest-tenured pitcher in the history of the franchise, Felix Hernandez, was also up for the Hall of Fame. And although he didn't get in, he did significantly better than many media members anticipated he would.

Hernandez cleared the 5% of the vote needed to stay on the ballot for another year and finished with 20.6% of the vote.

Hernandez pitched for the Mariners for 15 seasons from 2005-2019. Over that span, Hernandez was a six-time All-Star, and a one-time American League Cy Young winner (2010). He led the MLB in wins once (2009), led the American League in ERA twice (2010, 2014) and threw the only perfect game in franchise history against the Rays on Aug. 15, 2012.

OTD 11 years ago, Félix Hernández threw the 3rd perfect game of the 2012 season.

(Philip Humber: April 21st and Matt Cain: June 13th) pic.twitter.com/D0OGfuAXso
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) August 15, 2023

Hernandez was a long way off from the 75% needed from voters to get inducted into the Hall of Fame, but there's a chance that he could get the nod sometime in the next several years.

Wagner, one of the three 2025 inductees, was inducted in his last year on the ballot despite debuting with 10.5% of the vote in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2016.

There will be seven new players on the ballot in 2025, headlined by Ryan Braun and Cole Hamels. None of the newcomers on the 2026 ballot are viewed as locks for the Hall of Fame. That fact, coupled with Hernandez exceeded expectations in his first year of eligibility, could open the door for "the King" to find his way into Cooperstown, N.Y., sooner rather than later.

This article first appeared on Seattle Mariners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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