This was a first: the best part of last night's Cubs game was the Rain Delay. WGN played highlights from its 70 year baseball broadcast history.
One of the usual Cub historical highlight was Milt Pappas' 1972 "near" perfect game. He walked the next-to-last batter with two outs in the 9th inning on what he believed was a questionable call. The camera angle was behind home plate so the viewer cannot tell, but Pappas reaction on the mound to the call was nuclear.
Pappas was bitter for the rest of his life because of that ball four call.
A perfect game is baseball is defined as pitching a complete game where no runner gets on base by any means (walk, drop third strike, error). But is that definition of perfection really perfect?
Perfect is defined in the dictionary as having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be; free from any flaw or defect in condition or quality; faultless; precisely accurate; and exact.
If you are a starter, what would you classify as the perfect, perfect game?
Pat Hughes continues to say that Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game was the greatest pitching performance he has ever seen. That may be some biased Cub-homer opinion for Wood's accomplishment. But for an old school, power pitcher, the strike out was the goal against every batter. "You can't hit my stuff." "Take you bat between your legs and get some bench!" That is the mentality.
The "perfect" perfect game would be a pitcher striking out 27 batters in a row. The most strikeouts in a perfect game was 14 by Sandy Koufax (1965) and Matt Cain (2012).
But we live today in an era of pitch count on starters. It would be more difficult to have this kind of perfect game: 27 outs in 27 pitches. This improbable rarity would mean that every batter would be swinging on the first pitch. In order to be enticing, the starter would have to throw batting practice speed to the plate and hope his fielders can make every play. But that would mean every pitch was a strike and an out - - - it would be as good as it could get with no flaws (balls).
Baseball has its own language, but when we hear a pitcher is in the midst of a perfect game, is it really "perfect" or just "greater" than a plain no-hitter?
Showing posts with label no hitter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label no hitter. Show all posts
May 18, 2018
August 31, 2015
NO HITTER
The national ESPN broadcast was very good last night. It was different with Jessica Mendoza as an analyst, but she was informative and fun with John Kruk. It was conversational throughout the night.
What was interesting about the broadcast was the back ground information on Jake Arrieta, now 17-6, 2.11 ERA and 0.94 WHIP. Arrieta told the Cubs after the trade that he wanted to get back to throwing the way he did as a kid. It was a motion that the Orioles wanted to eliminate because it was a cross the chest delivery which many believe tends to create arm injuries in power pitchers. But the Cubs let Arrieta go back to what makes him comfortable. It has paid off, big time.
Also from last night's game was a primer on how to be a really effective pitcher. Arrieta's pitches all start in the middle of the strike zone, then dip and dive left and right. A batter sees his release point and immediately thinks strike, but as he begins to swing, his bat tells him it is not. But at that moment, it is too late. The prime example of this was Arrieta striking out the Dodgers in the 9th to complete his no hitter.
I also agree that Starlin Castro made an error. The sharply hit ball to him hit him then bounced away. I am a proponent of the rule that if the ball hits a fielder, he should be able to make a play. And if the home field scorer saw it as an error, it confirms my thesis.
In my lifetime, the Cubs have had 7 no hitters. I have seen on television 5 of the 7 no hitters. This is probably unique because WGN-TV carried all the Cubs games and baseball was a fixture of my viewing habits. Today, a nationally televised no hitter is a rarity.
This also cements the fact that Arrieta, with his consistent control and command (this was his 14th straight quality start, tying a club record by Greg Maddux), is clearly the ace of the staff.
What was interesting about the broadcast was the back ground information on Jake Arrieta, now 17-6, 2.11 ERA and 0.94 WHIP. Arrieta told the Cubs after the trade that he wanted to get back to throwing the way he did as a kid. It was a motion that the Orioles wanted to eliminate because it was a cross the chest delivery which many believe tends to create arm injuries in power pitchers. But the Cubs let Arrieta go back to what makes him comfortable. It has paid off, big time.
Also from last night's game was a primer on how to be a really effective pitcher. Arrieta's pitches all start in the middle of the strike zone, then dip and dive left and right. A batter sees his release point and immediately thinks strike, but as he begins to swing, his bat tells him it is not. But at that moment, it is too late. The prime example of this was Arrieta striking out the Dodgers in the 9th to complete his no hitter.
I also agree that Starlin Castro made an error. The sharply hit ball to him hit him then bounced away. I am a proponent of the rule that if the ball hits a fielder, he should be able to make a play. And if the home field scorer saw it as an error, it confirms my thesis.
In my lifetime, the Cubs have had 7 no hitters. I have seen on television 5 of the 7 no hitters. This is probably unique because WGN-TV carried all the Cubs games and baseball was a fixture of my viewing habits. Today, a nationally televised no hitter is a rarity.
This also cements the fact that Arrieta, with his consistent control and command (this was his 14th straight quality start, tying a club record by Greg Maddux), is clearly the ace of the staff.
June 14, 2015
ACID FLASH BACK
A pitcher who throws a no hitter at the major league level is praised for his excellent performance, his command of his pitchers, and possibly stellar defense for his cause. However, there is no incident in MLB history which throws the norms out the window.
On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis was unprepared to pitch against the San Diego Padres for one simple reason. He thought it was still June 11.
Ellis played in for five different clubs from 1968 through 1979. In his MLB career, he had a 138–119 record a 3.46 ERA and 1,136 strike outs.
But on June 12, 1970, Ellis claimed that he threw a no-hitter while under the influence of the drug, LSD. Reporters at the game said they do not believe his claim.
Ellis no hit the Padres 2-0 on Friday, June 12, 1970 in the first game of doubleheader. The Pirates flew to San Diego on Thursday, June 11 for a series against the Padres. Ellis reported that he visited a friend in Los Angeles and used LSD "two or three times." Thinking it was still Thursday, he took a hit of LSD on Friday at noon, and his friend's girlfriend reminded him at 2:00 PM that he was scheduled to pitch that night. Ellis flew from Los Angeles to San Diego at 3:00 PM and arrived at San Diego Stadium at 4:30 PM; the game started at 6:05 PM.
Ellis said he threw the no-hitter despite being unable to feel the ball or see the batter or catcher very well. "I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the [catcher's] glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters, and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes, I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder." Ellis said his catcher Jerry May wore reflective tape on his fingers which helped him to see May's signals. Ellis walked eight batters and struck out six Padres.
The game might have seemed like hours, or seconds: Ellis would later say he lost all concept of time. But when it ended, the Padres hadn't been able to touch him. He had pitched a no-hitter on acid.
At first, Ellis was gleeful about the incident. He related the story to author Donald Hall, who was co-writing his autobiography, Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball, but was talked out of publishing it for fear it would blemish the League. (Instead, when the book was published said he pitched the game while hungover.)
The lore of baseball has been scattered with stories of hard driving, hard driving, womanizing and crazy men playing a child's game. Perhaps in 20 years, there will be former players who will confess in their autobiographies to their drug induced baseball careers.
On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis was unprepared to pitch against the San Diego Padres for one simple reason. He thought it was still June 11.
Ellis played in for five different clubs from 1968 through 1979. In his MLB career, he had a 138–119 record a 3.46 ERA and 1,136 strike outs.
But on June 12, 1970, Ellis claimed that he threw a no-hitter while under the influence of the drug, LSD. Reporters at the game said they do not believe his claim.
Ellis no hit the Padres 2-0 on Friday, June 12, 1970 in the first game of doubleheader. The Pirates flew to San Diego on Thursday, June 11 for a series against the Padres. Ellis reported that he visited a friend in Los Angeles and used LSD "two or three times." Thinking it was still Thursday, he took a hit of LSD on Friday at noon, and his friend's girlfriend reminded him at 2:00 PM that he was scheduled to pitch that night. Ellis flew from Los Angeles to San Diego at 3:00 PM and arrived at San Diego Stadium at 4:30 PM; the game started at 6:05 PM.
Ellis said he threw the no-hitter despite being unable to feel the ball or see the batter or catcher very well. "I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the [catcher's] glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters, and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes, I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder." Ellis said his catcher Jerry May wore reflective tape on his fingers which helped him to see May's signals. Ellis walked eight batters and struck out six Padres.
The game might have seemed like hours, or seconds: Ellis would later say he lost all concept of time. But when it ended, the Padres hadn't been able to touch him. He had pitched a no-hitter on acid.
At first, Ellis was gleeful about the incident. He related the story to author Donald Hall, who was co-writing his autobiography, Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball, but was talked out of publishing it for fear it would blemish the League. (Instead, when the book was published said he pitched the game while hungover.)
The lore of baseball has been scattered with stories of hard driving, hard driving, womanizing and crazy men playing a child's game. Perhaps in 20 years, there will be former players who will confess in their autobiographies to their drug induced baseball careers.
June 13, 2015
NO HITTER
You can never tell what will happen in a baseball game. Giants 27 year old rookie pitcher Chris Heston took the mound this week in a fill-in role. He just happened to throw the 2015 season's first no-hitter on Tuesday, and he made it look
easy. With only 12 major league starts, Heston
needed just 110 pitches to no-hit the New York Mets.
Heston's no-hitter was the majors' first since Jordan Zimmerman of Washington on Sept. 28, 2014, the final day of the regular season. Since then, there have been two near-misses that were broken up in the ninth inning.
This was the 17th no-hitter in Giants history, and the fourth in as many seasons. Matt Cain threw a perfect game against the Astros in 2012, while Tim Lincecum no-hit the Padres in both 2013 and '14.
Heston struck out 11 and didn't walk anyone, though he did hit three
batters, more than any other pitcher to throw a no-hitter since 1914. He didn’t allow a single well-hit ball all
night. Only two of his 27 outs came via fly balls to the outfield. The rest came via 13
ground balls.
Si.com had a chart of Heston's performance:
Command and control was the key to Heston's no hitter. He did not overpower the Mets, but he out pitched the Mets line up. The variation in location where the outs happened shows that the Mets batters could not lock in to one batting zone.
Heston's no-hitter was the majors' first since Jordan Zimmerman of Washington on Sept. 28, 2014, the final day of the regular season. Since then, there have been two near-misses that were broken up in the ninth inning.
This was the 17th no-hitter in Giants history, and the fourth in as many seasons. Matt Cain threw a perfect game against the Astros in 2012, while Tim Lincecum no-hit the Padres in both 2013 and '14.
Si.com had a chart of Heston's performance:
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