I’ve been watching baseball for probably 45 years, since the LA Dodgers beat the Minnesota Twins in the World Series in 1965 (I was five, and the only thing I remember is that the Twins lost). I’ve seen a lot of goofy things happen between the lines. Until last night, though, I’d never seen a no-hitter in person or on television. I watched Roy Halladay of the Phillies pitch only the second playoff no-hitter in baseball history- in his postseason debut. I wasn’t alive when Don Larsen pitched his perfect game in 1956, so now my generation of fans has their “I remember when….” moment.
In what was easily the most dominant performance by a pitcher that I’ve EVER seen, Halladay made hitter after Cincinnati hitter look silly. He was so dominant, in fact, that it wasn’t until after the end of the seventh inning that I even realized that Halladay was pitching a no-hitter. It was such a thorough, efficient, matter-of-fact domination of a formidable Reds lineup that it was easy to miss…which I had until the end of the seventh.
I had goosebumps during the eighth and ninth innings. I’ve seen no-hitters taken into the ninth inning before, but it’s a tough thing to finish off. Hitters are bearing down, the pitcher’s tired and laboring, and invariably a skilled hitter jumps on a mistake and winds up on first base. Halladay was perhaps even more dominant in the eighth and ninth innings than he had been earlier in the game.
Man, Roy Oswalt’s got himself a tough act to follow on Friday…..
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Yes, before anyone asks, my Twins did lose to the Yankees. Someday, Minnesota’s going to have to stop acting like New York beating up on them is the natural order of things….
