What makes Felix Hernandez so good?
John Buck, who spent the first three months of this season with the Mariners before getting released, said the thing that stood out most to him about Hernandez was his faith not just in one pitch, but in all of them.
"My first conversation with him about the way he likes to pitch, he told me with great confidence, 'I throw anything in any count!'" Buck recalled. "And he does that really well."
"Some pitchers like to think they can do that. But of the ones I've caught -- other than Zack [Greinke] -- I have never seen anybody do it as well as he can in any situation."
Buck began his career as a teammate of Greinke's with the Royals, and was with that team from 2004 to '08. He didn't spend nearly as much time with Hernandez. But after catching nearly 9,000 innings in the majors, he knows what he likes.
A pitcher willing to throw any pitch at any time? Yes, John Buck liked that.
