This past Saturday, Cole Hamels, purportedly about to be traded this week, pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies against the Cubs. The final out was quite eventful:
The first players to greet Hamels were Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz. Ironically, all three have been rumored to be on the trading block. This was the 13th no-hitter in Phillies history. It was the third no-hitter in baseball this year. It was the first by the Phillies since Hamels, Jake Diekman, Jonathan Papelbon, and Ken Giles combined for one last year against Atlanta. Watching this one brought back memories of the night I watched one LIVE.
On September 28, 2012, I was in Pittsburgh to broadcast the Lafayette-Robert Morris football game. Since it was the night before the game we decided to leave our hotel in Moon Township and travel in to Pittsburgh for dinner. As we approached the city, we saw the lights on at PNC Park. The Pirates were playing the Cincinnati Reds. We decided to forgo dinner at a restaurant and head over to the ballpark.
As the five of us were nearing the stadium, a ticket hawker approached us and offered us five “terrific” tickets for $50. We were a bit apprehensive, but since the investment was minimal, we took our chances.
Upon entering the ballpark, we discovered it was Fan Appreciation Night and we were all handed a Pirate T-shirt. The $10 ticket fee was looking better. It really improved when our seats were located about 15 rows off of third base. We settled in for some ballpark food and a night of baseball.
It was the bottom of the second inning. The Reds had scored in the top of the first and had three hits already. Homer Bailey was pitching for the Reds. He easily retired the Pirates in order for the second time. The Pittsburgh leadoff batter in the third reached first on an error by Scott Rolen. Bailey retired the next three batters. He followed that by facing the minimum nine batters in innings four, five and six. Bailey had retired 12 straight and, through six innings, the Bucs had zero runs and zero hits with the only runner getting on via an error.
Bailey issued a walk in the seventh (erased trying to steal). He got the other two batters. Now, the entire crowd was beginning to stir. Homer Bailey was six outs away from a no-hitter. Even the Pittsburgh fans were beginning to cheer his effort. The eighth was uneventful – three up, three down. It was still 1-0 heading into the ninth.
The Reds went down in order. Now it was Homer Bailey’s turn. There was tension and anticipation with every pitch. The atmosphere was electric. The first Pirate batter struck out; the second flied out. Only Alex Presley was left. He popped out to second. Homer Bailey’s first career no-hitter was complete. The crowd went wild and everyone knew they had experienced some baseball history.
There were twelve no-hitters that year. Homer Bailey’s was the last. Since there were three hits and one run scored before we arrived at the Park, for $10, we saw only four hits (all singles) and no runs scored. But the night (as MasterCard promotes in their commercials) – PRICELESS!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME NO-HIT MUSINGS)
- The next no-hitter after Homer Bailey’s in 2012 was by none other than Homer Bailey in 2013 against the San Francisco Giants.
- On June 8, 2012, the Seattle Mariners beat the Dodgers 1-0 and used six pitchers to accomplish the feat.
- Cincinnati’s John Vandermeer threw consecutive no-hitters four days apart back in 1938 beating Boston and Brooklyn.
- There have been 22 perfect games (27 batters retired in a row) in Major League history. The last one was in 2012 by Felix Hernandez of Seattle.
- Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians threw the only opening day no-hitter on April 16, 1940 against the White Sox and won 1-0.
