Not only did Jonathan Sanchez hurl a no hitter last Friday night, but he did so without walking a batter. How must Juan Uribe feel for being one of the only ballplayers in history to make an error that winds up being the only thing that stands between your pitcher and a perfect game. He's no Buckner, but it can't feel good.I don't want to dwell on Uribe's error though. Did I mention Uribe booted a ball that spoiled his pitcher's perfect game? Because, yeah, I don't want to dwell on that mistake on Juan Uribe's part.
No, what I want to do--honestly--is ask how big a deal it is to throw no-hitters and perfect games. I am not questioning their significances, but I am wondering if they are comparable to any achievements in any other sport. A hat trick? A triple double? 100 rushing yards? We could equate "big deal" with rarity of the occurrence. That would definitely be a way to do it. But I am also interested in what throwing a no-hitter means about your overall value as a pitcher. There were certainly suggestions on Saturday morning that the Giants should treat Sanchez like solid gold, even though his immediate past with the team wasn't so great. Should a no-no change a team's mind like that? Or is it just a guy being in the zone for a night?
apparently there have been about 260 officially recognized no hitters that have occurred in the last 130ish years. Just under two per year. What else happens only twice per year?
ReplyDeleteWell since the NBA started recording blocks and steals 30+ years ago there have been 4 quadruple doubles, whereas tiple doubles happen all the time: Oscar averaged a triple double for an entire season!....so I guess somewhere between those two?
A 5 goal game has been recorded 59 times in the 100 year history of the nhl, and this year alone there were 69 hat tricks and 20 Gordie Howe hat tricks (a goal, an assist, and a fighting penalty).
The top 5 rushers in the NFL ran for 100 yards a combine 36 times last year, but a running back only broke of a 80+ yard run twice.
Its really weird how a lot of no-hitters are pitched by non-star pitchers ie Anibel Sanchez, Clay Bucholz, This guy, etc. You'd think this would happen more for the pitchers that are at the pinnacle of their sport, and not the random guy no one has heard off or the up and coming prospect that hasn't established himself yet.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and what seems even weirder is that perfect games DO seem to come from the guys at the pinnacle, like Randy Johnson, David Cone, David Wells, Kenny Rogers, and Dennis Martinez. So apparently any hump can throw a no-hitter, but it takes a gem to throw one without any walks or errors.
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