When the Seattle Mariners demoted him to the bullpen earlier this season, Felix Hernandez reportedly considered walking away from baseball.

Hernandez made one relief appearance on August 14 before an injury created an opening in the rotation.

"I was like, 'Should I just take my cleats and go home?'" Hernandez said of his feelings when he was moved to the bullpen.

Hernandez was so down that his wife scheduled a flight from the couple's home in Miami to meet her husband in Houston two days later.

"You've done great things," (Hernandez's wife) Sandra responded. "You need to have fun. Be the leader you've always been. You do a lot of clubhouse pranks. Have fun. You don't have to be serious. Don't change. Be who you are."