no-hitters (the baseball type): s/d c/d

I like watching no-hitters or even 1- or 2- hitters develop. At first it seems dull, nothing happening, then gradually it starts to seem like "maybe this is something special?" and the announcers are superstitious so they won't mention it directly but they'll hint a little bit, and if it really get's going it's incredibly exciting. I remember kind of half-watching Bud Smith's on the tv at the gym and remember noting after 7 innings or so "hmm, no hits, pretty good" then I the last time I checked the tv all the Cardinals were hugging him and he just had this really purely happy look on his face. It was sweet. Even if a team has a really lousy season you can hope for something special to happen in any given game.

I heard "no hitter" is technically short for "no hit/no run" game because you could theoretically lose a no hit game. My brother says there's a rule that there has to be at least one spectacular defensive play in every no hitter, too.

Heeeeey batter batter batter, seeeeeeerrr-WING batter batter batter (this is all I know about baseball cultcha)!

Maura you never chat to me anymore! How are you? How is Pret? I do not work anywhere near a Pret now. Boo.

How are you?

I will email you later today -- I have to go to a freelance interview soon.

I still don't understand the Ryan worship with Rangers fans (yo, people, he never won more than 13-14 games here, and the team sucked), but that was awfully exciting.

Was he the one who had 0 H/10W/3K? That shouldn't count.

For undisclosed reasons.

A "no-hitter" is when a baseball pitcher (he's like a cricket bowler) plays the whole game yet doesn't allow a single batter to hit the ball and reach base (a "hit"). If the batter does hit the ball it's caught, or thrown to the base before he gets there (an "out"). Of course a pitcher can accidentally hit the batter with the ball, giving the batter a free trip to first base. Or a pitcher can throw terrible pitches, too far away for the batter to hit; 4 of these with any given batter and the batter is also awarded first base (a "walk"). Or the batter can hit the ball and one of the fielders will bobble it or kick it away, or have it jump inside his sleeve unfortuitously (an "error"). However none of these are "hits" so they don't impinge on a "no-hitter". In a "perfect game" none of these events happen: not one of the batters you face reaches base.

Wow, Milo!! That must have been something!

I still don't understand the Ryan worship with Rangers fans

Search: all of them, even t-ball no-hitters, and especially the two I threw in HS (including one with only 1 K -- mostly infield pop-ups) and the four-inning mercy-shortened one I threw a couple years before that in Koufax ball (11 Ks and one screaming line-out to my groin, er, me). Low-hit games with few runs -- especially when they're manufactured runs -- are the absolute best. They're full of tense moments and they're VERY FAST. HRs = zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I'm much more wowed by a hitter who can leg out a triple. Some Bluto-looking dude who can hit a baseball 500 ft does not impress me, especially these days.

Has there been anyone since Tommy Herr (1985?) who has ended a season with less than 10 HRs and more than 100 RBIs? There should be a special award for that. (Obviously I haven't been in the MLB loop for a few years.)

jimmythe mod, I think you're thinking of Burnett's but why don't you try throwing one before you start hating on Lil' Bud Smith :)

Triples are great, but the inside-the-parker is even more thrilling. The only thing is it always involves an outfielder misplaying the ball. I was at the game when Jose Valentin hit for the cycle back in 2000. The last thing he needed was the home run and he got it in his last at-bat.

Also, re: the single-mindedness of home-run hitters - they work for their runs, but it usually hurts them in the end. Witness the butt-of-jokes that is Rob Deer, the sad end to Jose Canseco's career, Greg Vaughn's pathetic last three years, and the arrested development of Mike Cameron.

G 149
H 109
HR 37
RBI 99
SO 156
OBP .285
AVG .204

Contemporary baseball doesn't interest me much. The games are too long, it's boring on TV and (especially in the AL), strategy doesn't seem to matter much. Going to the Ballpark in Arlington and drinking beer in the Home Run Porch is still a good time though.

I love Noly as a player, he's a freak of nature like Randy Johnson, but that account kind of diminished my affection for him. But I was happy because I always liked Ventura and I had a hard time believing he acted like such a punk. Now it seems righteous, like when Mike Sweeney charged Jeff Weaver a couple of years ago. I like Weaver now, though.

Paul Molitor ('96) 9 hr - 113 rbi. There may be others, but I doubt it.

YEAHHH!!! That's what I'm talking about!

Anyone happen to know the record for the most number of RBIs in a season for a homerless hitter?

The brawl we used to imitate in little league was Frank DiPino vs Mark Grace. We knew every gesture and overhand punch. Good times.

Lowe's no-no against the Devil Rays is impressive, but it was the Devil Rays. Similar poo-poo can be shoveled onto Bud Smith's walktastic performance, David Cone's perfect game (against Les Expos Terrible) and David Wells' perfect game (against the Twins, back when they were swinging like weeping willows), but only if you're a totally bitter crank (like I am).

Millwood's no-no against a stacked Giants team, however, is super-impressive, especially given how Foppert et. al. pitched. What does this mean? It means I hate baseball fun.

For Andy - Cap Anson drove in 91 in 1893 without the help of a home run. I imagine there's another dead-ball-era hitter that can top that, no doubt.

Supposedly, Rafael Palmeiro has turned into nothing more than another slugger, simply so he can get to 500 HRs. I don't buy it. The Yankee announcers are just jealous.

Even my fave rave Sandy told Lou Brock he was gonna throw at him! One time Brock stole second and third and Sandy told him after, "I don't like to look bad and if you make me look bad again I'm going to have to hit you." If you are a lefty I don't think you want Sandy Koufax throwing the ball at you.

That was BS the other night when Garland got ejected for hitting Mientkiewicz! Those South Siders are such ruffians. They get punished like the bad kid in school.

Actually, I think Palmeiro might be the most underrated player in the game. He's a sure first ballet hall-of-famer. Yet if you ask the average baseball fan "who are the greatest players still playing", I don't think his name comes quickly to mind.

Middling dipshits that take umbrage w/ superstar pitchers deigning to throw hard stuff inside deserve to get knobbed in the ass or midsection. Actually, most or any hitters that whine / bitch / moan about pitchers throwing inside ("ow my jersey button!") should receive a li'l kiss on the bootay from Uncle Charlie or some such relative.