File photo of Felix Hernandez in Seattle

Lucky number 13?

On Thursday Felix Hernandez became the second Seattle Mariners ace to win the Cy Young award, despite a 13-12 season record. He was able to surpass the competition with his major league-leading 2.27 ERA and impressive stats, unlike the rest of the Mariners team this season.

The Mariners' poor hitting and last place title definitely put a damper on Hernandez, but when it came to the award, he finally got the support he needed.

“This confirms the Cy Young is an award not only for the pitcher with the most wins but the most dominant,” Hernandez told the Associated Press while celebrating with relatives in Valencia, Venezuela.

Hernandez beat out second and third place contenders David Price and C.C. Sabathia, receiving 21 of the 28 first place votes and 167 points total from the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

The 24-year-old right-hander led the league in innings, was second in strikeouts and held AL opponents to the lowest batting average, .212. His 13 wins marked the fewest for a Cy Young starter in a full season, but he proved to those who rely on traditional win-loss stats that he was fully in control all season.

Hernandez had hoped to win the award last year, but finished second behind Zack Greinke. However, he unanimously won the award this year after pitching a no-hitter and leading the majors in shutouts and complete games. He is now the 100th overall winner of the Cy Young Award and couldn’t be happier.

“It was a great, great, great, amazing feeling,” he said.

To reach writer Devin Altschul, click here.

Sign up for Neon Tommy's weekly e-mail newsletter.