I’m not sure what an “idyll” is, unless it’s sitting around accomplishing nothing while ruminating about someone or something one admires. If that’s what an idyll is, this is one. About the King.
Felix Hernandez got shelled Sunday: 2 ip, 11 runs, 7 earned. Meanwhile the M’s got one hit off Gerritt Cole and lost 21 – 1.
Next Saturday Ben and I will be at the Mariners game with Melissa and my grandson Enzo. This is at Enzo’s insistence. Felix is scheduled to start that day. I got us tickets near the field in the left field corner — the King’s Court area. I hope to wave my yellow King Felix towel and/or a K card and see Felix have at least a reasonably good game. I would like Enzo to see a great pitcher end his career well.
We didn’t have debutants in the EFL when Felix debuted. Our first shot at him was in the 2006 rookie draft. In those days we could bid against each other in the first round. This was the league’s third season, the year before John Johnson and Joel Perez joined, so there were six teams: Ryan, Phil, me, Tim Smith, Mark Wienert and rookie owner Tom Johnson. Things were easier then, without the younger half of the Johnson Gang.
Hernandez and Justin Verlander were in that draft, the most coveted pitchers along with Francisco Liriano. I knew all three were likely to go in that first round. My main goal was to get one of them. I decided Hernandez and Verlander were the two best. I thought Tom and Ryan would want Hernandez so badly they’d drive up the price. So if it came to me and none of the three were off the board yet, I’d put up Hernandez, let them drive the price up sky high, then I’d pass. Then I’d count on someone else to bring up Verlander and outbid them.
I was prepared to go to $9,000,000 for Hernandez, about the highest anyone had paid for a rookie pitcher to that point, and a little higher if it came down to Verlander. But everyone else passed on Felix at about $7,500,000. So I ended up with King Felix at what I considered a bargain, and enjoyed 5 of his best years. Verlander went later for a little more. I think Tom ended up with Liriano.
So far the Wolverines are the only EFL team Felix Hernandez has played for. His EFL career is just those five season: 2006 – 2010. We got 22.3 WAR out of Felix. His last year as a Wolverine he won the American League Cy Young Award.
Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Prince Fielder and Brian McCann were in that draft. I don’t remember anyone drafting Cano or Cruz. I know we didn’t draft Hanley Ramirez, because he immediately blossomed after the draft, much to our dismay. Fielder and McCann, I think, went to someone. Someone snagged Ryan Zimmerman — it wasn’t me. I got him later in a trade.
As I remember it, when John joined our league in 2007, he couldn’t believe no one had taken Ramirez.
Not all hyped youngsters pan out. Jeff Francoeur was a sure-fire superstar. I was almost as thrilled to get Jeremy Hermida as Hernandez, because I could tell from his minor league record that Hermida was the next Lance Berkman, whose career bWAR ended up at 52.7.
How well did we do at getting the best players in that draft? Here’s how they did in their debut year, and then in their EFL rookie years (2006 – 2010) as measured by Fangraphs WAR, and then their career so far in Baseball Reference WAR.
PLAYER 2015 2016-2020 Career
Hanley Ramirez -0.0 28.2 37.9
Brian McCann 0.5 27.4 31.8
Justin Verlander 0.1 24.8 70.2
Felix Hernandez 2.3 24.0 50.6
Ryan Zimmerman 0.7 23.2 37.8
Adam Wainwright -0.1 17.7 39.9
Robinson Cano 0.2 17.2 69.4
Prince Fielder 0.1 15.2 23.6
Francisco Liriano 0.5 11.9 17.9
Nelson Cruz 0.1 9.5 37.3
Jeff Francoeur 3.0 3.0 6.7
Jeremy Hermida 0.8 2.3 2.7
(OK, so Hermida didn’t reach 52.7. But at least he got the 2.7 part down solid.)
Edgar Martinez just barely squeezed into the Hall of Fame with 68.4 WAR, so Verlander and Cano are the only 2015 debutants likely to join him. On the other hand, Harold Baines got in via a veteran’s committee with 38.7 bWAR. If that’s the standard, Felix should be a lock, and Ramirez, Zimmerman, and Cruz should all be adding their z’s to the Hall.
Right after Lou Whitaker (75.1 bWAR).
.
EFL | ||||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
Portland Rosebuds | 94 | 51 | .649 | — | 922.7 | 677.7 |
Flint Hill Tornadoes | 91 | 53 | .630 | 2.9 | 899.6 | 678.9 |
Old Detroit Wolverines | 85 | 59 | .589 | 8.7 | 841.5 | 698.2 |
Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 79 | 64 | .552 | 14.1 | 763.4 | 674.8 |
Peshastin Pears | 78 | 67 | .535 | 16.5 | 756.9 | 707.1 |
Canberra Kangaroos | 74 | 70 | .514 | 19.5 | 808.2 | 789.2 |
Haviland Dragons | 74 | 70 | .514 | 19.6 | 801.5 | 773.9 |
Kaline Drive | 69 | 75 | .480 | 24.5 | 679.8 | 707.6 |
Cottage Cheese | 64 | 79 | .446 | 29.4 | 793.9 | 876.9 |
Bellingham Cascades | 63 | 80 | .438 | 30.4 | 659.0 | 749.1 |
Brookland Outs | 61 | 82 | .423 | 32.6 | 698.5 | 819.2 |
D.C. Balk | 57 | 87 | .395 | 36.7 | 632.7 | 786.4 |
AL East | ||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
New York Yankees | 94 | 50 | .653 | — |
Flint Hill Tornadoes | 91 | 53 | .630 | 3.3 |
Tampa Bay Rays | 86 | 59 | .593 | 8.5 |
Old Detroit Wolverines | 85 | 59 | .589 | 9.1 |
Boston Red Sox | 76 | 67 | .531 | 17.5 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 55 | 89 | .382 | 39 |
Baltimore Orioles | 46 | 97 | .322 | 47.5 |
NL East | ||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
Atlanta Braves | 89 | 55 | .618 | — |
Washington Nationals | 79 | 63 | .556 | 9 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 74 | 68 | .521 | 14 |
Canberra Kangaroos | 74 | 70 | .514 | 14.9 |
New York Mets | 72 | 70 | .507 | 16 |
D.C. Balk | 57 | 87 | .395 | 32.1 |
Miami Marlins | 51 | 91 | .359 | 37 |
AL Central | ||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
Minnesota Twins | 88 | 55 | .615 | — |
Cleveland Indians | 83 | 61 | .576 | 5.5 |
Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 79 | 64 | .552 | 9 |
Chicago White Sox | 63 | 80 | .441 | 25 |
Bellingham Cascades | 63 | 80 | .438 | 25.3 |
Kansas City Royals | 53 | 91 | .368 | 35.5 |
Detroit Tigers | 42 | 100 | .296 | 45.5 |
NL Central | ||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
St. Louis Cardinals | 81 | 62 | .566 | — |
Chicago Cubs | 76 | 66 | .535 | 4.5 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 74 | 68 | .521 | 6.5 |
Cincinnati Reds | 67 | 77 | .465 | 14.5 |
Cottage Cheese | 64 | 79 | .446 | 17.3 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 62 | 81 | .434 | 19 |
Brookland Outs | 61 | 82 | .423 | 20.5 |
AL West | ||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
Houston Astros | 94 | 50 | .653 | — |
Oakland A’s | 84 | 59 | .587 | 9.5 |
Haviland Dragons | 74 | 70 | .514 | 20 |
Texas Rangers | 72 | 73 | .497 | 22.5 |
Kaline Drive | 69 | 75 | .480 | 24.9 |
Los Angeles Angels | 67 | 77 | .465 | 27 |
Seattle Mariners | 58 | 86 | .403 | 36 |
NL West | ||||
TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
Portland Rosebuds | 94 | 51 | .649 | — |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 93 | 52 | .641 | 1.1 |
Peshastin Pears | 78 | 67 | .535 | 16.5 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 75 | 68 | .524 | 18.1 |
San Francisco Giants | 69 | 74 | .483 | 24.1 |
San Diego Padres | 66 | 76 | .465 | 26.6 |
Colorado Rockies | 60 | 84 | .417 | 33.6 |