9 IP 0 H 0 R 1 BB 8 K: I wasn't originally supposed to be at tonight's game -- with our partial season ticket plan my dad and I were assigned Game 2 of the NLDS, but since my Firm's having its biannual firmwide retreat in Orlando starting Friday afternoon we had to swap games, and the Phillies ticket office was nice enough to give us comparable seats for tonight.
Oh. My. God.
Mind you, I've attended two no-hitters before, one of which I've written up here, but I've never seen anything like this in person before. Such utter control. Such ridiculously unhittable stuff. "It's no fun out there," said should-be-NL-MVP Joey Votto. "It's like trying to hit nothing. He's an ace among aces."
The only game I can compare to this one was The Kerry Wood Game, where the stakes were so much lower. I truly don't have the words right now, but the 700 Level has some audio/visual content which may help.
As Halladay himself said after he pitched the complete game which clinched the division title, it's only gonna get funner.
Oh. My. God.
Mind you, I've attended two no-hitters before, one of which I've written up here, but I've never seen anything like this in person before. Such utter control. Such ridiculously unhittable stuff. "It's no fun out there," said should-be-NL-MVP Joey Votto. "It's like trying to hit nothing. He's an ace among aces."
The only game I can compare to this one was The Kerry Wood Game, where the stakes were so much lower. I truly don't have the words right now, but the 700 Level has some audio/visual content which may help.
As Halladay himself said after he pitched the complete game which clinched the division title, it's only gonna get funner.
I wasn't, an AL fan, planning to watch this game at all. But having had a long day at work, I stopped by the bar on the way home, bottom of the 7th....and wow. I had to stay to the end and watch history, the only no hitter in the postseason in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteWow is right. Wow. Too, too good. He made it look so ... easy. Like pouring milk from a pitcher, as Greg Maddux once said. I stood for that last out, may Natsdom forgive me.
ReplyDeleteWow is right. Wow. Too, too good. He made it look so ... easy. Like pouring milk from a pitcher, as Greg Maddux once said. I stood for that last out, may Natsdom forgive me.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as another friend noted on facebook, how nice was it that the game started at a reasonable hour, so East Coast kids could see that history-making performance down to the final out?
ReplyDeleteScotty Rolen, after the game: "I never thought I would look forward to facing Roy Oswalt."
(Rolen, career vs. Oswalt: .214/.244/.333 in 42 AB; Oswalt, career against the Reds: 23-3, 2.81 ERA in 34 G, 32 GS)
My friend texted an alert during the 8th about the no-no in an effort to try and jinx it, but I'm just glad that he clued me in.
ReplyDeleteIt only counts if you're at the game (and even then, not really; jinxing games is like believing in Cubs curses).
ReplyDeleteI got home from work around the 3rd inning and was able to watch the whole rest of the game with my kids. My son was adorably anxious through the last couple of innings, running in and out of the room and almost quivering with nervousness. At the last out, we all exploded with cheers, whereupon our guinea pig broke out in excited squeaking that lasted several minutes. Thank you, Roy, for helping to provide such a wonderful family memory.
ReplyDeleteMy brother sent me a picture of him in front of the scoreboard. What a fun game to have been at.
ReplyDeleteI watched the first couple of innings out of the corner of my eye on my tv at work, decided against meeting friends at a bar to watch the rest and so saw the last couple innings at home. Big mistake, as I was almost too excited to be alone and couldn't call anyone for fear of jinxing it (I know. . .). It was just awesome, though I have to admit that there's a part of me that feels guilty, as if we stole something that rightfully belonged to Toronto.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great game--Halladay is a great guy and I am incredibly happy for him. (What a way to start your postseason career!) However, I wish everyone would stop the direct comparison to Don Larsen, who pitched a PERFECT game in the WORLD SERIES. What Halladay did was incredible...but it's still a couple of steps from Larsen. (Though, obviously, Halladay is the MUCH better pitcher of the two.)
ReplyDeleteOh, Natsdom will.
ReplyDeleteWe were discussing that Halladay is a no-brainer for the HOF even before this performance, and Larsen isn't in it. But he did have that one moment of total perfection . . .
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend reading "Perfect, Once Removed," by Phillip Hoose (award-winning writer of children's books, this one's for adults but good for baseball-loving kids). It's a memoir -- he desperately wanted to learn to play baseball to fit in to his new hometown, and he was terrible at it, and his dad said, "Oh yeah, you've got a cousin who plays baseball. Cousin Don." and he started corresponding with Don Larsen, a few months before the perfect game. Very absorbing.
Anyone who gets on you for respecting Halladay's performance isn't a baseball fan. A true baseball fan loves the game, and loves seeing it played at the highest possible level, even if the person playing that way is on a team you detest. Halladay deserves every accolade, and the respect and admiration of every fan.
ReplyDeleteHalladay is en route to the HOF, but he still has to produce at about this level for at least the length of this contract. Otherwise, he joins Kevin Brown in the Hall of the Very Good, no?
ReplyDeleteOoh, thanks for the recommendation! I have "Perfect" sitting on my shelf to read, too.
ReplyDeleteIn Larsen's perfect game, Jackie Robinson hit a line drive that caromed off 3B Andy Carey's glove but ricocheted to SS Gil McDougald, who threw to first just in time for the out. Mantle snagged a hard liner backhanded at the top of his jump; if it got by him in center, presumably it would have gone for extra bases. Apparently there was a close play on a ball hit down the 3B line and a couple of hard hit balls into the RF stands just foul.
ReplyDeleteI didn't see the Halladay game (some of us have to work out here on the west coast), but I've heard that it was pretty much a no-doubter, that it required nothing more than routine plays from the Phillies fielders. The only baserunner walked on a full count.
So the result of Don Larsen's best game was one baserunner better than Halladay's, but it sounds like he needed a bit of luck where Halladay didn't. I didn't see either game, so I could be completely full of it, but I don't have any problem with mentioning the two in the same breath -- one a seat-of-your-pants-you-can-exhale-now perfect game and the other a no-doubt-about-it no-hitter.
Jeff Sullivan at Lookout Landing proposed a Halladay Rule: On days Halladay is scheduled to pitch, Phillies opponents may elect to take one run in lieu of batting in the first eight innings. Only the Phillies bat in the first eight innings, then both teams may bat in the 9th (and later, if necessary). Halladay is not allowed to pitch until five days later.
There was one play last night that was less than routine and required a collective holding of the breath -- the final out. Phillips squibbed a ball that landed just in front of Ruiz on the fair side of the first base line...but basically touching Phillips' discarded bat. Chooch had to pluck ball from bat and get the ball past Phillips to Howard - the throw wound up being about a step ahead of the speedy Phillips. It was a terrific play, but not quite as fluky as the carom that resulted in Jackie's out in 1956.
ReplyDeleteAlso, keep in mind that Wilson Valdez had to start at 3b in place of the injured Polanco (back) - that was a defensive downgrade that was of some concern going into the game, though Exxon wound up making the plays he needed to (two grounders earlier in the game and the second out of the 9th, on a foul pop).
As much stick as Philly fans deservedly get, my dad saw Sandy Koufax throw a no-hitter, no walk, 27-up and 27-down game. (He hit a the first batter but then got a double play.) The crowd at Connie Mack stadium gave Koufax a standing ovation at the end.
ReplyDeleteAdam, you have no idea how much joy the Keltner test is giving my kiddo. I'll have to ask him if he wants to do Halladay with it, since he asserted firmly that Halladay's headed to the HOF.
ReplyDeleteValdez needs to learn to get out of the way when he's called off though. I don't know what the Phils would have done without him this season but this was the second home game in a row where he was underfoot-- the last home game of the season, he was fighting Chase for ball at 2nd-- Chase didn't even look in his direction for a few minutes after that. And Ryan Howard could have smooshed him yesterday, he was so close when Ryan was making a catch.
ReplyDeleteI like Valdez alot but he needs to get out of the way when someone calls him off. Either that, or the regulars need to learn to trust him and let him catch the ball.
Being there yesterday was AMAZING! We knew something special was happening right out of the gate. When I commented on the pitch count at the end of the third, my dad shushed me-- I think even then he was fearing a jinx.
Of course you're right, Marsha, absolutely.
ReplyDelete