Life and Stuff

I had a scary thought last night. While watching the Red Sox Orioles game, it occurred to me that someone who is baby-faced and 24 days younger than yours truly had just become apart of baseball history by throwing a no-hitter. By accomplishing this rare feat, he became only the second pitcher in baseball history to throw a no-hitter in his second major league start. His name is Clay Bucholtz, and until last night, he was a relative obscurity to all of baseball aside from the Red Sox organization and their nation of fans. By the end of the evening, staunch baseball addicts knew his name and the majority of them found it difficult to fathom the fact that so many of the game's great pitchers like Roger Clemens and Tom Glavine have never thrown a no-no in their long and illustrious careers. But yet, here's this young kid who was able to turn the trick in only the second time he toed the rubber on a major league mound.

There's no denying that young Mr. Bucholtz was in command from the first pitch to the last, but what about the defense? Should they be given an assist for helping preserve the no hitter? Quite simply, the answer is yes. Had Dustin Pedroia not made a spectacular diving stop on a Miguel Tejada grounder in the 7th, this game would be remembered as a great pitcher effort rather than an extraordinary one. In Bucholtz's gem, he struck out nine, including five of the last ten men he faced. The only blemishes on his effort were two walks and a hit batsman. It was truly one of those nights in my life as a baseball fan that I'll never forget, but I almost did not see it.

I started watching the game at the beginning, but once the Sox took a 4-0 lead I felt that it was in the bag. The Orioles can't hit, can't pitch, and can't do much of anything right. So I figured that the Red Sox had finally snapped their losing streak and I saw no point to continue to watch the game. I enjoyed a nice Pu-Pu Platter with my parents, and went off to check some e-mails. At around 9 PM, I decided to go downstairs and check on the game, just to see if the Sox were still winning. Soon afterwards, I was informed by my Stepfather that Pedroia had made a great play and the crowd was going nuts. I began to notice that the crowd seemed more amped up than usual for a normal regular season game. It lead to the following exchange with "Bass Fishing Bob"
Me: "Has he given up a hit yet?"
Him: "I think so"
Me: "Are you sure?"
Him: "I'm almost positive"
At that moment, they showed the line score and I knew he wasn't paying attention. My excitement over what was happening led my Mother to come in watch. This is a woman who knows nothing about baseball and her ridiculous questions which I will share with you now, distracted me from my enjoyment of the game.
1. "Why are they sitting away from him in the dugout, do they not like him?"
2. "Why do they have to wear jewelery during the game?" "It's tacky and should be outlawed!"
3. "Why do they always have to spit?"
To her credit, she seemed as excited and thrilled as we were and I'm grateful for the fact she provided fodder for this piece.

I believe in weird coincidences, and if you don't, try these three on for size to see why Clay Bucholtz may have done what he did.
1. In the third inning of last night's game a fan held up a sign of her and a young Jerry Remy with Nolan Ryan, the man who pitched more no-hitters than anyone else.
2. Wilson Alvarez, who before last night was the only man to pitch a no-hitter in his second start, threw his against the Orioles, the same team Bucholtz victimized last evening.
3. I read an article earlier in the day in "Baseball Digest" that dealt with pitchers losing no hit bids with two outs in the ninth.

What's next for Bucholtz? History says that this will be the only bright spot in his career and he will never reach his true potential as a major league pitcher. 20 rookies have thrown no hitters, and most of them do not turn into stars. Take for instance Alvarez who carved out a decent, but not great career and never turned into an ace. Bud Smith was 6-3 in his rookie season, but was out of the major leagues by the next season. Jose Jimanez was a decent closer for a couple years with the Rockies, but he never fully blossomed, (and no Dad, I'm not referring to the Bill Dana character.) Perhaps the cruelest fate of all was suffered by St. Louis Browns pitcher Bobo Halloman, who threw a no-hitter in his first big league start and only won 2 more games in his entire career. Hopefully, Bucholtz will be the exception, but even if his fate turns out to be like those of the aforementioned pitchers, he can always says that at least for one night he was the talk of the baseball world.

Postscript: Starting September 11, I will begin a weekly column of thoughts and reflections on the Sunday and Monday NFL games entitled 'Tuesday Morning Running Back." I chose to hold off until Tuesday in order to allow for reflections on the Monday night game although not all games will be covered. Eat your heart out Peter King, two can play this game!