"...swings and LINES ONE INTO CENTER FIELD a base hit."
And with that, Justin Verlander's bid for his second no-hitter in as many months came to a screeching halt. An Indian's hit in the 8th inning screwed up what would have been the 3rd no-no of Verlander's career. He ended up with a complete game two-hitter (the second was a blooper). With that game, the Tigers vaulted over the Indians into first in the AL Central.
Also in the AL Central, Francisco Liriano (who else) took a no-no through the 7th. That's when the Twins decided to take a half-hour and score 5 runs, which was good for them, but not for Liriano, who gave up a hit in the next inning.
So ended the bids for two more no-hitters from the same pitchers who threw the other ones this year.
Showing posts with label no-hitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label no-hitter. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Perfect Game That Wasn't
It is 8:50pm on June 2, 2010. Armando Galarraga is pacing around at the back of the mound. There are two outs in the ninth inning. Not one opposing player has reached first base. After receiving the sign from Detroit Tigers catcher Alex Avila, Galarraga sets his feet. He winds up, and throws the pitch. A ground ball to first! First baseman Miguel Cabrera ranges to his right to field the ball. Galarraga rushes to the base. Cabrera throws the ball perfectly. Galarraga catches it, and puts his foot on the bag ahead of the runner. He is about to become the 19th pitcher in Major League history to throw a perfect game!
In the words of Tigers radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson: "...throws to Galarraga covering first, and, THEY DIDN'T GET HIM!!! OH MAN!!!!!"
Galarraga got the next batter, and the Tigers won. But it didn't matter. The perfect game was thrown to the wind. Suddenly, all of the Tigers players barged out of the dugout. They surrounded the first base umpire Jim Joyce, arguing the call. Certain he had made the right call, Joyce argued for a bit, then made his way to the umpire's room. A fellow umpire met him. "I thought he was out."
A shadow of doubt filled Joyce's mind. He went to look at the replay for the first and last time in his life. The runner had been out. Joyce would forever be remembered as the man who blew the perfect game.
Joyce broke down after seeing the replay. He allowed some reporters into the umpire's room - something which rarely happens - and acknowledged his mistake, crying throughout the interview. He asked to see Galarraga, and apologized personally. Galarraga, though unhappy about the call, accepted the apology and gave Joyce a hug.
Joyce was scheduled to be the home plate umpire the next day. Commissioner Bud Selig gave Joyce the option to skip the game. Joyce declined. As he walked out at the start of the game, he was shocked at the response from the crowd. Sure, there were a few boos, but almost everyone stood up and applauded his sportsmanship. A minute later, Galarraga walked out of the dugout with the lineup card. Once again, Joyce broke into tears. The men shared a hug, and Galarraga walked back to the dugout. The game went smoothly, and Joyce did an admirable job behind the plate.
The happy ending did nothing to take away the reality of the blown call. Joyce received hate mail, and even death threats. Even now, when people hear his name, they think of the call that cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game.
One year later, Joyce, who was (and still is) one of the most respected umpires in baseball, is still umpiring baseball games, and doing a great job. Apparently Galarraga isn't doing so well, as he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and is now back in the Minor Leagues. He hopes to be back in the Majors soon. For him, the perfect game that wasn't leaves only good memories of sportsmanship. Joyce prefers not to talk about the game.
Perfect games. Blown calls. Sportsmanship. All came together in this amazing game. The imperfect game could have been extremely ugly. Instead, because of the actions of the umpire and the pitcher, it taught everyone a lesson in sportsmanship, and the game of baseball is better for it.
In the words of Tigers radio broadcaster Dan Dickerson: "...throws to Galarraga covering first, and, THEY DIDN'T GET HIM!!! OH MAN!!!!!"
Galarraga got the next batter, and the Tigers won. But it didn't matter. The perfect game was thrown to the wind. Suddenly, all of the Tigers players barged out of the dugout. They surrounded the first base umpire Jim Joyce, arguing the call. Certain he had made the right call, Joyce argued for a bit, then made his way to the umpire's room. A fellow umpire met him. "I thought he was out."
A shadow of doubt filled Joyce's mind. He went to look at the replay for the first and last time in his life. The runner had been out. Joyce would forever be remembered as the man who blew the perfect game.
Joyce broke down after seeing the replay. He allowed some reporters into the umpire's room - something which rarely happens - and acknowledged his mistake, crying throughout the interview. He asked to see Galarraga, and apologized personally. Galarraga, though unhappy about the call, accepted the apology and gave Joyce a hug.
Joyce was scheduled to be the home plate umpire the next day. Commissioner Bud Selig gave Joyce the option to skip the game. Joyce declined. As he walked out at the start of the game, he was shocked at the response from the crowd. Sure, there were a few boos, but almost everyone stood up and applauded his sportsmanship. A minute later, Galarraga walked out of the dugout with the lineup card. Once again, Joyce broke into tears. The men shared a hug, and Galarraga walked back to the dugout. The game went smoothly, and Joyce did an admirable job behind the plate.
The happy ending did nothing to take away the reality of the blown call. Joyce received hate mail, and even death threats. Even now, when people hear his name, they think of the call that cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game.
One year later, Joyce, who was (and still is) one of the most respected umpires in baseball, is still umpiring baseball games, and doing a great job. Apparently Galarraga isn't doing so well, as he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, and is now back in the Minor Leagues. He hopes to be back in the Majors soon. For him, the perfect game that wasn't leaves only good memories of sportsmanship. Joyce prefers not to talk about the game.
Perfect games. Blown calls. Sportsmanship. All came together in this amazing game. The imperfect game could have been extremely ugly. Instead, because of the actions of the umpire and the pitcher, it taught everyone a lesson in sportsmanship, and the game of baseball is better for it.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Baseball, Festival, Baseball, Tulip Time, and No-Hitters (Baseball)
Ok, so maybe it's not that much baseball, but it has been a pretty good week and a half for MLB fans. Especially Tigers fans. It would be for Twins fans too, except that they are losing pretty much every game. Last week, Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins threw baseball's first no-hitter of the year. Which is strange, because he walked eight and only struck out two. On top of that, he had an ERA just over nine going into the game. Oh, by the way, he had never thrown a complete game in his career.
One week later, he only went three innings and gave up four runs against the Tigers, who blew out the Twins 10-2.
A couple days later, we went to State Festival with the West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts (WMHFA) Concert and Advanced Bands and Symphony Orchestra. My brother and I are in Advanced Band. The AB had earned straight ones at District Festival for the first time ever! So we were just happy to be in State. But we still earned II, I, II, I, for an overall score of II, which turned out to be one of the better scores of the day. Symphony Orchestra earned a I (the only orchestra to do that!), and Concert band was one of only three bands to get a I.
Fast forward now to Saturday. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this day, because we had to show bees at Tulip Time for eight hours straight. Not fun. Buffalo Wild Wings provided a free lunch, so that helped a little. But the real highlight of the day was towards the end of the eight hours. The Tigers had started at four, so I was keeping tabs on the score through my iPod. I didn't pay too much attention to it until the 4th, when I realized that Justin Verlander had a perfect game going! Just then, my cousins showed up, and I put the iPod away. They stayed for about an hour, and helped us pick up when it was over. During this time I had only gotten a couple looks at the score, but enough to know that Verlander still had the perfect game going to the 7th. By the bottom of the 7th, we were all picked up and were on the way home, so I got to hear the rest of the game on the radio. In the 8th, with one out, Verlander still held onto perfection. Until, after a twelve pitch at bat, he walked somebody. *sigh* The Tigers are still waiting for the first true perfect game (see: Armando Galarraga) in the team's history. Verlander went on to get a double play, and breezed through the last inning to get his second career no-hitter, the 7th in Tigers history, and the second Tiger to throw two no-hitters in his career, and one of only a handful to throw a no-hitter while facing the minimum amount of batters (27).
The next day, we went back to Tulip Time for another six hours of showing bees. Although the Tigers won, there was no drama. Well, at least there wasn't any compared to the day before.
The Tigers are on a roll now, winning eight of their last nine games. We'll see how long this lasts.
Well, that pretty much sums up my last week or so. I wonder if these amazing baseball games will keep coming...
One week later, he only went three innings and gave up four runs against the Tigers, who blew out the Twins 10-2.
A couple days later, we went to State Festival with the West Michigan Homeschool Fine Arts (WMHFA) Concert and Advanced Bands and Symphony Orchestra. My brother and I are in Advanced Band. The AB had earned straight ones at District Festival for the first time ever! So we were just happy to be in State. But we still earned II, I, II, I, for an overall score of II, which turned out to be one of the better scores of the day. Symphony Orchestra earned a I (the only orchestra to do that!), and Concert band was one of only three bands to get a I.
Fast forward now to Saturday. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this day, because we had to show bees at Tulip Time for eight hours straight. Not fun. Buffalo Wild Wings provided a free lunch, so that helped a little. But the real highlight of the day was towards the end of the eight hours. The Tigers had started at four, so I was keeping tabs on the score through my iPod. I didn't pay too much attention to it until the 4th, when I realized that Justin Verlander had a perfect game going! Just then, my cousins showed up, and I put the iPod away. They stayed for about an hour, and helped us pick up when it was over. During this time I had only gotten a couple looks at the score, but enough to know that Verlander still had the perfect game going to the 7th. By the bottom of the 7th, we were all picked up and were on the way home, so I got to hear the rest of the game on the radio. In the 8th, with one out, Verlander still held onto perfection. Until, after a twelve pitch at bat, he walked somebody. *sigh* The Tigers are still waiting for the first true perfect game (see: Armando Galarraga) in the team's history. Verlander went on to get a double play, and breezed through the last inning to get his second career no-hitter, the 7th in Tigers history, and the second Tiger to throw two no-hitters in his career, and one of only a handful to throw a no-hitter while facing the minimum amount of batters (27).
The next day, we went back to Tulip Time for another six hours of showing bees. Although the Tigers won, there was no drama. Well, at least there wasn't any compared to the day before.
The Tigers are on a roll now, winning eight of their last nine games. We'll see how long this lasts.
Well, that pretty much sums up my last week or so. I wonder if these amazing baseball games will keep coming...
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