11/05/24
August 31, 2009
Andy Pettitte's Bid for Perfect Game Ends with Error: New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte had retired the first 20 batters he faced when third baseman Jerry Hairston let a routine ground ball go through his legs in the seventh inning Monday night. "That's OK," Pettitte didn't say afterward. "I retire the first 20 batters I face all the time, and I'm a young pitcher with my best years ahead of me. No, wait. I'm 37 years old. I hate you, Jerry Hairston!"
If it is anything like the Tejada story, we will find out 8 years after the fact that it is some sort of a conspiracy that players with R's & I's in their last names are tipping each other and letting plays go to help similar guys on other teams. Damn you letterist people!!!
posted by Demophon at 08:46 AM on September 01, 2009
No, no, that's ridiculous.
It's obviously because Hairston used to play for the O's, and now he's a secret double agent.
posted by inigo2 at 09:56 AM on September 01, 2009
I didn't realize 7 innings constituted a perfect game. I always thought it was the full 9.
posted by Ricardo at 10:20 AM on September 01, 2009
I didn't realize 7 innings constituted a perfect game. I always thought it was the full 9.
That's right. It was just a bid for a perfect game.
posted by inigo2 at 10:49 AM on September 01, 2009
He allowed two hits after the error. I know that anything could happen at any time but it's not like he pitched flawlessly the rest of the way.
Then, and only then, should the tar and feathers be summoned.
posted by dfleming at 11:29 AM on September 01, 2009
Andy Pettitte is still pitching? Awesome!
posted by THX-1138 at 11:36 AM on September 01, 2009
The perfect game was not lost on an error. He gave up hits after the error. Also, even when the error happened, he may have lost his perfect game but he still had a no hitter going that was worth saving. Unfortunately he was not able to preserve that either. No shame in his performance but say the perfect game was ruined by an error is a silly as saying his no hitter was ruined by a couple of hits. You either do it or you don't.
posted by Atheist at 11:42 AM on September 01, 2009
That's right. It was just a bid for a perfect game
If it's a bid for a perfect game, about how much does a perfect game go for these days? I'd say in the low hundreds...sigh
posted by BornIcon at 12:01 PM on September 01, 2009
No shame in his performance but say the perfect game was ruined by an error is a silly as saying his no hitter was ruined by a couple of hits.
No one has said that his perfect game was ruined by an error. They've said that his bid was ruined by an error. It's weird this is a stumbling point for people. It would be a logical impossibility for a perfect game to be ruined by an error.
I disagree with the notion that events after Hairston's error save him from being tarred and feathered. Pettitte had just six outs left if Hairston didn't buckner. There's no way to know that Pettitte would have given up those hits if the game remained perfect through 7.
posted by rcade at 12:13 PM on September 01, 2009
The perfect game was not lost on an error.
Okay.
even when the error happened, he may have lost his perfect game
*Head Explodes*
i find the story interesting. I mean, 2 outs in the 7th and a perfect game is nothing to sneeze at. He's getting close. We're not talking about the 5th. Pettitte should be going into the 8th with a perfect game. That's pretty exciting.
In Clay Buchholz last game (against the blue jays) he gave up a hit in the 2nd on an infield single that was actually a blown call. He eventually gave up an actual hit in the 7th with 1 out. If the call isn't blown he's 1 out from going into the 8th with a no-hitter.
There's no guarantee that Pettitte throws a perfect game without the error or Buchholz throws a no-hitter without the blow call, but you never know. Maybe the error threw Pettitte off his game. And maybe Buchholz doesn't throw the same pitch in the 7th if he's throwing a no-hitter, and maybe the hitters, feeling the pressure of wanting to get the first hit, start to press.
Those are viable discussions. There's such a fine line between throwing a perfect game/ no-hitter and not. You need luck, and little things do matter.
posted by justgary at 01:29 PM on September 01, 2009
Btw, rcade, you have a nice little gig going of quoting people saying things they never actually said. Truly, print journalism is a dying industry... :)
Doctoring quotes is like Pringles.
posted by rcade at 01:36 PM on September 01, 2009
Pettitte gave up the first hit pitching from the stretch for the first time. If Hairston makes the play, Pettitte faces Markakis (and maybe subsequent hitters) from a full windup.
Hairston blew Pettitte's chances every which way. No telling how it would have played out without the error, and that's really the point.
posted by EnglishSpin at 11:31 PM on September 01, 2009
Pettitte gave up the first hit pitching from the stretch for the first time.
Good point.
posted by justgary at 12:15 AM on September 02, 2009
Ha!
Btw, rcade, you have a nice little gig going of quoting people saying things they never actually said. Truly, print journalism is a dying industry... :)