Roy Oswalt among Tuesday arms on the 50th anniversary of perfection
Roy Oswalt among Tuesday arms on the 50th anniversary of perfection
It was the greatest single game pitching performance in MLB history, only Harvey Haddix came out on the losing end, and today marks the 50th anniversary of the event.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of a truly amazing feat in Major League Baseball. SBR poster Rick22 reminded me of this last week and it set me on a course of research on one Mr. Harvey Haddix Jr.
On another Tuesday just like today, Harvey Haddix did put forth the longest single game string of perfection in big league history...only to wind up losing the game. It was a night game in County Stadium in Milwaukee when Haddix and the Pirates visited the old Braves. Through nine innings the two teams were at a scoreless stalemate, with the Pittsburgh southpaw setting down all 27 batters he had faced.
And Haddix remained perfect through the 10th, the 11th and the 12th innings as well. Only his teammates refused to score for him. Pittsburgh batters rapped out a dozen hits, but had three possible rallies killed by double plays, plus a big base running blunder in the third cost them a shot at pushing a run across on Haddix' greatest game ever.
The first Milwaukee batter to reach was Felix Mantilla leading off the bottom of the 13th. A throwing error by Don Hoak, later to be immortalized in the movie City Slickers, opened the floodgates. Eddie Mathews, of all people, was then called on to bunt by Braves Fred Haney, and got it down to move Mantilla to second. It would be one of just three sac bunts for Mathews all season, and one of just 36 in his 17-year career.
Hank Aaron was then intentionally walked by Haddix to bring Joe Adcock to the plate. The big first baseman stung a Haddix pitch over the fence in right for an apparent three-run, walk-off job, the only hit Haddix would be charged with all day. But Adcock was eventually given credit for just a double when Aaron, thinking the ball had not cleared the fence and was just a long double off the wall to end the game once Mantilla scored, headed for the celebration near home and the dugout after rounding second.
Adcock missed seeing Aaron leave the basepaths and raced home only to be charged with officially passing the base runner ahead of him when he touched third base. Final: Braves win 1-0.
Talk about the ultimate bad beat, your pitcher has a perfect game through nine, then 12 innings, and you still lose. So in honor of the feat here is my list of the top five most likely pitchers to match it today. No, I don't expect this record will ever be equaled much less topped. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak is in danger more than Haddix' single game effort. Maybe if Roy Halladay was sitting on 114 pitches with a perfect game through 12, Cito Gaston would send Doc out there for the 13th, but he's the only pitcher I can really imagine having a shot these days.
And Halladay's not scheduled to pitch today anyway. My 5 best hurlers for Tuesday, May 26, 2009.
Roy Oswalt (-120) at Cincinnati
Great American Ball Park 7:10 p.m. (ET)
With a 23-1 career mark against the Reds, picking Roy O is to beat them on Tuesday isn't exactly going out on a limb. And he does have at least a piece of a no-no in his career as the starting pitcher in the 6-pitcher no-hitter Houston hung on New York at old Yankee Stadium in June 2003.
Speaking of 2003, the Astros are 31-15-1 at Great American Ball Park since it opened that season (the tie in a rain postponed game in 2005). Though Oswalt is not having a great season by his standards -- 10 starts, 4.47 ERA, Houston is 4-5 with a suspended game in another one of his starts at Washington -- he's been his usual self against the Reds in two starts this season, working 13 innings and allowing just one run.
Weather: Then again, Mother Nature may not allow Oswalt a chance to pitch. Right now there is a 60% chance of rain this evening in Porkopolis, with winds 5-10 MPH out of the SSE (in from center).
Umpire: Mike Everitt should be the man behind the mask for this one. In his nine games calling pitches in 2009, home teams are 6-5 (home dogs are 3-1) and the Over is slight favored by a 5-4 margin.
Adam Wainwright (-115) at Milwaukee
Miller Park, 8:05 p.m. (ET) ESPN
As dominant as Oswalt has been against the Reds, Wainwright gets my nod as the starting pitcher with the best chance of a no-hitter for Tuesday night based on his recent outings. Look no further than two starts ago for the big righthander when he allowed just two hits over eight innings to these same Brewers in a 1-0 loss in St. Louis.
He followed that win over the Brewers by working into the ninth of his last start (May 21), giving up just a run in 8.2 innings while striking out seven for a second straight start. The only bad news for Wainwright is Jeff Suppan will oppose him, with Soup the winning hurler in that 1-0 Brewers win against Wainwright and the Cards on May 16. These two teams combined for five hits on Monday, for goodness sakes! I like Wainwright's chances tonight against the Brewers.
Weather: The retractable roof at Miller Park might come in handy for this one with forecasters calling for a 70% chance of rain in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Umpire: The home plate umps is slated to be Paul Nauert, and that works a little in Wainwright's favor with road teams 5-3 when Nauert calls the pitches. His totals mark is split evenly, 4-4 O/U.
Zach Greinke (-155) vs. Detroit
Kauffman Stadium, 8:10 p.m. (ET)
Let's see, four complete games, two shutouts a 0.82 ERA and the Royals 7-2 in his nine starts. Yeah, I'd say that makes Greinke an excellent candidate for a shot at immortality tonight in his home park, Kauffman Stadium. The one big problem with just blindly backing him at this time is KC's offense has gone into a funk with just 12 runs scored in a 1-5 skid.
Greinke is on an amazing run dating back to the end of the 2008 season and arguably the best pitcher in the majors right now. One of those complete games he has this season was here in KC against the Tigers. On Apr 24, Greinke tossed a 3-hitter, striking out 10 and allowing just a single unearned run to Detroit.
Weather: As with our other two MLB locales for Tuesday night, there's a chance of rain in Kansas City, 60% currently, with winds 5-10 MPH out of the NNW (in from left).
Umpire: Angel Campos gets the call behind the plate with road teams 4-2 in his six games behind the dish in 2009. The Over is also 4-2 in his contests.
Joe Saunders (-190) vs. Chicago
Angel Std of Anaheim, 10:05 p.m. (ET)
No doubt there will be a few raised eyebrows throwing Saunders into this group. Despite pitching well in 2008 and again so far this season, he's just not a very recognizable game to a lot of folks. But remember, this is the lefty that sent Greinke to his only defeat this season when Saunders hurled a complete game, 5-hitter here at the Big A for a 1-0 Angels win on May 9.
This is also a fairly impotent offense he will face in the White Sox. Chicago ranked next-to-last in the AL in scoring at just 3,88 RPG and tied for last in hitting (.243 AVG) entering play on Monday. Saunders beat them twice last season, working a combined 15.2 innings with a 1.72 ERA. That includes 8.1 innings in Anaheim on May 23, 2008, when he surrendered just three hits in a 3-1 LA win.
Weather: There is a chance of rain even in Anaheim, though it's just a 10% earlier in the day and the weathermen calling for clearing skies by game time. Winds are listed out of the SW (out to center) at 5-10 MPH.
Umpire: Jim Wolf is the arbiter behind the plate for this one, sporting a 5-4 record in favor of the home team in his nine games so far in 2009, and sitting 4-4-1 on totals.
Tim Lincecum (-170) vs. Atlanta
AT&T Park, 10:15 p.m. (ET)
With just two career complete games in his career, Lincecum might not be the best candidate to toss a 9-inning game period at this time, much less a no-no. But lord knows he has the stuff to do so eventually.
Two of Lincecum's 18 wins in his 2008 NL Cy Young campaign came against the Braves. That includes working eight innings and giving up two runs on five hits while whiffing eight during a 3-2 Giants win at home in AT&T Park on Aug 6. He's limited the Atlanta hitters to a .185 batting average against him (12-for-65), but the one hitter who has given Lincecum trouble is Brian McCann (5-for-9, .556).
Weather: Cloudy skies give way to a clear afternoon and evening in San Fran. Look for a first-pitch temp around 70ยบ or so, though wind could be a factor with current forecasts saying 10-20 MPH from the West (out to center).
Umpire: Mike Dimuro has the plate duty at AT&T. He is split on totals this season, 4-4 O/U, and favors the visitors 5-3 in his eight assignments calling balls and strikes.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com
.
It was the greatest single game pitching performance in MLB history, only Harvey Haddix came out on the losing end, and today marks the 50th anniversary of the event.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of a truly amazing feat in Major League Baseball. SBR poster Rick22 reminded me of this last week and it set me on a course of research on one Mr. Harvey Haddix Jr.
On another Tuesday just like today, Harvey Haddix did put forth the longest single game string of perfection in big league history...only to wind up losing the game. It was a night game in County Stadium in Milwaukee when Haddix and the Pirates visited the old Braves. Through nine innings the two teams were at a scoreless stalemate, with the Pittsburgh southpaw setting down all 27 batters he had faced.
And Haddix remained perfect through the 10th, the 11th and the 12th innings as well. Only his teammates refused to score for him. Pittsburgh batters rapped out a dozen hits, but had three possible rallies killed by double plays, plus a big base running blunder in the third cost them a shot at pushing a run across on Haddix' greatest game ever.
The first Milwaukee batter to reach was Felix Mantilla leading off the bottom of the 13th. A throwing error by Don Hoak, later to be immortalized in the movie City Slickers, opened the floodgates. Eddie Mathews, of all people, was then called on to bunt by Braves Fred Haney, and got it down to move Mantilla to second. It would be one of just three sac bunts for Mathews all season, and one of just 36 in his 17-year career.
Hank Aaron was then intentionally walked by Haddix to bring Joe Adcock to the plate. The big first baseman stung a Haddix pitch over the fence in right for an apparent three-run, walk-off job, the only hit Haddix would be charged with all day. But Adcock was eventually given credit for just a double when Aaron, thinking the ball had not cleared the fence and was just a long double off the wall to end the game once Mantilla scored, headed for the celebration near home and the dugout after rounding second.
Adcock missed seeing Aaron leave the basepaths and raced home only to be charged with officially passing the base runner ahead of him when he touched third base. Final: Braves win 1-0.
Talk about the ultimate bad beat, your pitcher has a perfect game through nine, then 12 innings, and you still lose. So in honor of the feat here is my list of the top five most likely pitchers to match it today. No, I don't expect this record will ever be equaled much less topped. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak is in danger more than Haddix' single game effort. Maybe if Roy Halladay was sitting on 114 pitches with a perfect game through 12, Cito Gaston would send Doc out there for the 13th, but he's the only pitcher I can really imagine having a shot these days.
And Halladay's not scheduled to pitch today anyway. My 5 best hurlers for Tuesday, May 26, 2009.
Roy Oswalt (-120) at Cincinnati
Great American Ball Park 7:10 p.m. (ET)
With a 23-1 career mark against the Reds, picking Roy O is to beat them on Tuesday isn't exactly going out on a limb. And he does have at least a piece of a no-no in his career as the starting pitcher in the 6-pitcher no-hitter Houston hung on New York at old Yankee Stadium in June 2003.
Speaking of 2003, the Astros are 31-15-1 at Great American Ball Park since it opened that season (the tie in a rain postponed game in 2005). Though Oswalt is not having a great season by his standards -- 10 starts, 4.47 ERA, Houston is 4-5 with a suspended game in another one of his starts at Washington -- he's been his usual self against the Reds in two starts this season, working 13 innings and allowing just one run.
Weather: Then again, Mother Nature may not allow Oswalt a chance to pitch. Right now there is a 60% chance of rain this evening in Porkopolis, with winds 5-10 MPH out of the SSE (in from center).
Umpire: Mike Everitt should be the man behind the mask for this one. In his nine games calling pitches in 2009, home teams are 6-5 (home dogs are 3-1) and the Over is slight favored by a 5-4 margin.
Adam Wainwright (-115) at Milwaukee
Miller Park, 8:05 p.m. (ET) ESPN
As dominant as Oswalt has been against the Reds, Wainwright gets my nod as the starting pitcher with the best chance of a no-hitter for Tuesday night based on his recent outings. Look no further than two starts ago for the big righthander when he allowed just two hits over eight innings to these same Brewers in a 1-0 loss in St. Louis.
He followed that win over the Brewers by working into the ninth of his last start (May 21), giving up just a run in 8.2 innings while striking out seven for a second straight start. The only bad news for Wainwright is Jeff Suppan will oppose him, with Soup the winning hurler in that 1-0 Brewers win against Wainwright and the Cards on May 16. These two teams combined for five hits on Monday, for goodness sakes! I like Wainwright's chances tonight against the Brewers.
Weather: The retractable roof at Miller Park might come in handy for this one with forecasters calling for a 70% chance of rain in Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Umpire: The home plate umps is slated to be Paul Nauert, and that works a little in Wainwright's favor with road teams 5-3 when Nauert calls the pitches. His totals mark is split evenly, 4-4 O/U.
Zach Greinke (-155) vs. Detroit
Kauffman Stadium, 8:10 p.m. (ET)
Let's see, four complete games, two shutouts a 0.82 ERA and the Royals 7-2 in his nine starts. Yeah, I'd say that makes Greinke an excellent candidate for a shot at immortality tonight in his home park, Kauffman Stadium. The one big problem with just blindly backing him at this time is KC's offense has gone into a funk with just 12 runs scored in a 1-5 skid.
Greinke is on an amazing run dating back to the end of the 2008 season and arguably the best pitcher in the majors right now. One of those complete games he has this season was here in KC against the Tigers. On Apr 24, Greinke tossed a 3-hitter, striking out 10 and allowing just a single unearned run to Detroit.
Weather: As with our other two MLB locales for Tuesday night, there's a chance of rain in Kansas City, 60% currently, with winds 5-10 MPH out of the NNW (in from left).
Umpire: Angel Campos gets the call behind the plate with road teams 4-2 in his six games behind the dish in 2009. The Over is also 4-2 in his contests.
Joe Saunders (-190) vs. Chicago
Angel Std of Anaheim, 10:05 p.m. (ET)
No doubt there will be a few raised eyebrows throwing Saunders into this group. Despite pitching well in 2008 and again so far this season, he's just not a very recognizable game to a lot of folks. But remember, this is the lefty that sent Greinke to his only defeat this season when Saunders hurled a complete game, 5-hitter here at the Big A for a 1-0 Angels win on May 9.
This is also a fairly impotent offense he will face in the White Sox. Chicago ranked next-to-last in the AL in scoring at just 3,88 RPG and tied for last in hitting (.243 AVG) entering play on Monday. Saunders beat them twice last season, working a combined 15.2 innings with a 1.72 ERA. That includes 8.1 innings in Anaheim on May 23, 2008, when he surrendered just three hits in a 3-1 LA win.
Weather: There is a chance of rain even in Anaheim, though it's just a 10% earlier in the day and the weathermen calling for clearing skies by game time. Winds are listed out of the SW (out to center) at 5-10 MPH.
Umpire: Jim Wolf is the arbiter behind the plate for this one, sporting a 5-4 record in favor of the home team in his nine games so far in 2009, and sitting 4-4-1 on totals.
Tim Lincecum (-170) vs. Atlanta
AT&T Park, 10:15 p.m. (ET)
With just two career complete games in his career, Lincecum might not be the best candidate to toss a 9-inning game period at this time, much less a no-no. But lord knows he has the stuff to do so eventually.
Two of Lincecum's 18 wins in his 2008 NL Cy Young campaign came against the Braves. That includes working eight innings and giving up two runs on five hits while whiffing eight during a 3-2 Giants win at home in AT&T Park on Aug 6. He's limited the Atlanta hitters to a .185 batting average against him (12-for-65), but the one hitter who has given Lincecum trouble is Brian McCann (5-for-9, .556).
Weather: Cloudy skies give way to a clear afternoon and evening in San Fran. Look for a first-pitch temp around 70ยบ or so, though wind could be a factor with current forecasts saying 10-20 MPH from the West (out to center).
Umpire: Mike Dimuro has the plate duty at AT&T. He is split on totals this season, 4-4 O/U, and favors the visitors 5-3 in his eight assignments calling balls and strikes.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they start games. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com
.