SEATTLE (AP) — Fighting back tears while his hands trembled, Felix Hernandez has signed a seven-year contract with the Seattle Mariners that makes him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Hernandez officially signed his new deal that will be worth $175 million. The contract covers the final two years of his current deal that was scheduled to run through the 2014 season and adds five additional years through the 2019 season.
Hernandez was greeted by Mariners front-office staff all wearing yellow “Kings Court” T-shirts that have become a special section of the stadium for all of his starts. He immediately got choked up, repeatedly saying, “I will not disappoint anybody.”
General manager Jack Zduriencik said Hernandez got a “clear bill of health” from Mariners physicians before finalizing the deal.
