2010 AL Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez was on 710 ESPN just moments after he was announced as the winner, reacting to the news. Hernandez was understandably excited, showing emotion and thanking the voters for picking him in moments of youthful exuberance.
“It’s so amazing, so incredible, I’m just really happy I won the Cy Young.” Hernandez said.
It was news the city of Seattle needed and Hernandez understood the importance of the award. “It’s meaningful for the city, meaningful for the fans.” he said. “Hopefully we make the playoffs. That’s what we need, that’s what the fans need in Seattle.”
Asked what was different about this season, Hernandez said he was playing with much more confidence. “I was more confident. I was like ‘OK, there you go? You wanna hit me? That’s one pitch for you. You don’t have a chance.’” Hernandez said. “So many words I can say now, I’m very excited.”
The Mariners’ ace knew he had a chance early in the season after opening strong. “After the month of May, those four months, I was like I got a chance. Because I thought I did a pretty good job, I had good numbers”
Finally, Hernandez was glad the voters overlooked his 13-12 record, noting just how dominant he was throughout the season, saying “I just gotta say thank you to all the voters that believed in me. They’re just looking at the numbers, they’re not looking at the wins.”
Congratulations to your 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner: Felix Hernandez!