Veteran pitcher Félix Hernández has several more goals he wants to accomplish before he walks away from baseball for good. According to the 34-year-old pitcher, he will retire once he reaches 200 career wins and 3,000 strikeouts.
Hernandez revealed his intentions in a recent appearance on 710 ESPN Seattle’s The Bob, Dave, and Moore Show radio show on Tuesday.
“If I can get to that goal, I’m gonna hang my spikes. I’m done,” said Hernandez, who left Seattle Mariners after 15 years this offseason and joined Atlanta Braves organization.
Hernandez is currently at 169 wins and 2,524 strikeouts, which makes his goal fairly realistic. However, he would have to play regularly and remain productive for at least the next four years, something that doesn’t seem quite likely considering his performances in recent years.
Since 2016, Felix Hernandez’s numbers have become progressively worse as he compiled a 15-27 record. He was particularly struggling in 2019 when he only had one win to go with career-worst 6.40 ERA and 57 strikeouts.
Hernandez had six All-Star appearances during his time in Seattle and has won AL Cy Young Award for being the MLB’s best pitcher in 2010. He is also one of the rare players in baseball history who managed to have a perfect game.
