Jack Zduriencik remembers the sea of yellow shirts — the mass of fans pulsing with anticipation down the left field line — and how they came alive each time the King struck out a batter, “K” cards flapping in frantic delight.



Most of all, though, the former Mariners general manager remembers the connection shared by Félix Hernández and his cheering section. The King’s Court needed him. He needed them.



“I think about him a lot, and all the nights he pitched … the King’s Court behind him,” Zduriencik said this week. “He’d come out of the bullpen, and he would get a standing ovation. He was someone they hung their hats on. He was their hero.



“Félix relished that. And he delivered. He rose to the occasion. His will to win was fantastic.”



A promotion started in 2011, when the Mariners needed to do something to get people to the ballpark after a decade-long...