EVERETT — For the Everett AquaSox, Felix Hernandez’s rehab appearance on Sunday was a genuine Event, capital E, maybe the biggest thing to hit Everett Memorial Stadium since Jay Buhner did a three-game stint in 2001.
“It’s been gangbusters – a lot of energy, very electric,’’ enthused general manager Danny Tetzlaff, who has spent the last few days parrying ticket requests for a sold-out ballpark that was packed to the gills.
“NASCAR has Daytona to start the season. In Game 13 at home, we have our Super Bowl.”
To Hernandez himself, it was a nostalgic return to the short-season Class A ballpark where he debuted stateside as a 17-year-old phenom in 2003, an 11-game pit stop on his rocket blast to stardom.