12/21/24
October 06, 2010
Doctober: With his second no-hitter of the season, the good Doctor joins Don Larsen as the only men in the history of baseball to throw no-hitters in the post-season.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey to baseball at 07:50 PM - 23 comments
Yes! Yes! Yes!
As a Blue Jays fan, I am so damn happy for Halladay. I guess he really was ready for the playoffs.
posted by grum@work at 07:55 PM on October 06, 2010
I'm a Reds fan, so that was painful. But damn, that was a work of art. It's like he knew every hitter's thoughts. When they were going to be aggressive, his first pitch would be outside the zone; when they were patient, he grooved the first pitch. *Grumbait* It seemed like he had an 0-2 or 1-2 count on almost every hitter. I think I recall the announcers saying in the eighth that the only 3 ball count he had all game was the one where he ultimately walked Bruce. Hats off to the guy, he showed tonight that he is really a master of his craft.
posted by tahoemoj at 08:27 PM on October 06, 2010
2 3-ball counts all night.
79 strikes in 104 pitches.
Strike one to 19 of the first 22 hitters.
11 0-2 counts. ELEVEN. (I think it's 11. I'm pretty sure it was 9 going into the 9th and he had two 0-2 counts in that inning. I can't be sure because I'm too super fucking impressed to check.)
First-pitch strike to 25 of 28 hitters. (on Update)
Only two Reds put the first pitch in play, so Halladay started ahead 0-1 to 23 of the 28 hitters he faced.
No hitter reached a 2-0 count, and only one reached 2-and-1.
No hitter reached a 3-and-1 count.
Cincinnati hit just four balls in play out of the infield all game.
I watched every game this guy tossed for 13 years and knew he was just the best thing going. Now he's left a helluva stamp on the game.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:44 PM on October 06, 2010
Also of note: the Reds led the NL in runs, HRs and batting average this year.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:55 PM on October 06, 2010
Roy Halladay no-hitter postgame report
posted by justgary at 09:03 PM on October 06, 2010
the Reds led the NL in runs, HRs and batting average this year.
They struggled all year, though, when they faced true top-tier starters and feasted on the bottom of orders. Example: Travis Wood pitches 8+ perfect innings against Halladay right before the all-star break and loses because the Reds manage to put up a goose egg in the process. They just can't seem to figure out aces (but they got to Oswalt a few times, finally).
posted by tahoemoj at 09:10 PM on October 06, 2010
Orlando Cabrera: "He and the umpire pitched a no-hitter. He gave him every pitch. Basically, we had no chance."
Reality: You're full of shit, Orlando. The umpire called only one ball a strike the entire game.
posted by grum@work at 09:18 PM on October 06, 2010
Doc dominated like a 6-foot blond wearing a leather bustier and fishnet stockings and carrying a whip. That was simply an amazing performance.
posted by Howard_T at 10:19 PM on October 06, 2010
That's our Doc.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 10:22 PM on October 06, 2010
Yeah, have fun in game 2 Orlando. Make sure to wear those earplugs.
posted by cl at 10:52 PM on October 06, 2010
Wow. This'll teach me not to miss any of the first round of games again. Unbelievable. And Cabrera can shut his yap.
posted by boredom_08 at 01:08 AM on October 07, 2010
The umpire called only one ball a strike the entire game.
If we're going solely by your blog link, then not only my eyes but also TBS's pitch monitoring graphic need seriously re-evaluated. There were a number of very questionable strikes that I, TBS' technical team, and occasionally the announcers were all in agreement with. There was more than one comeback fastball where it seemed like Hirschbeck seemed to be saying to himself "ooo, that was pretty how that ball slid back toward the plate - nevermind it's still in the batter's box area ... STRIKE".
HAVING SAID THAT, linking those few questionable calls to Halladay's performance, Cabrera is a tool for coming out with that statement. It's one thing for me, a nobody, to come out and say that the ump made some curious strike calls but, at least I give due credit to Halladay. To be the guy that comes out and says that immediately after the guy made your entire roster look completely silly ... knucklehead, Cabrera.
The one other point that Halladay didn't have control over but may have helped his cause - the Reds strategy of sitting on first pitches. In the first inning, it looked the Reds hitters were going to be aggressive, but that sure tailed off and I think that was a mistake against Halladay, especially when he's on like he was (gawd, the movement on his fastball was unreal). So, I wonder what was (or wasn't) being said in the dugout about that strategy (or lack thereof). Regardless, he made multiple good hitters look very goofy up there, regardless of the count.
So, I'm with tahoe ... all my minor bellyaching about the ump and the Reds' strategy aside, that was amazing to watch. And despite how impressed I was with the Reds' bullpen, by the 8th inning, I had to put my Reds' fandom aside and I was hoping he'd pull it off. And, from everything I've heard and seen, couldn't happen to a more quality individual. Congrats!
posted by littleLebowski at 07:04 AM on October 07, 2010
Orlando Cabrera: "He and the umpire pitched a no-hitter. He gave him every pitch. Basically, we had no chance."
That's all numbnuts needed to say.
I hate the Phillies with a passion but this was a Doc Halladay at his finest. Good for him!
posted by BornIcon at 07:18 AM on October 07, 2010
I'd give anything to have been able to watch this live. This is one of those major moments that resonate indefinitely. I have to go find a place to watch a re-broadcast online.
posted by beaverboard at 08:30 AM on October 07, 2010
Yeah, in the 9th, TBS scanned the crowd and paused for a second on a boy, probably 9ish, who couldn't have had a bigger smile. The whole ordeal had me in goosebumps but that sight and imagining the unadulterated joy of a kid in that moment = extra chills.
posted by littleLebowski at 08:54 AM on October 07, 2010
Ugh. I'm staying in St. Pete on the beach after coming into town to see Rangers-Rays. I leave my hotel room to see my first ocean sunset in 15 years and miss a postseason no-hitter!
Cliff Lee was a monster too yesterday. Not that anyone will remember that.
posted by rcade at 09:49 AM on October 07, 2010
A Reddit user offers this brilliant argument: "Here is why baseball is the most boring sport ever played: a perfect game, the game's greatest achievement, celebrates the absence of anything happening."
Before the web, you could only hear something like this if you had a stupid friend.
posted by rcade at 11:18 AM on October 07, 2010
Some nice Halladay remembrances from someone who covered him for a long time.
Including a story about Doc getting bashed in the face by Vernon Wells (accidentally) and not missing a beat.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:50 AM on October 07, 2010
Cliff Lee was a monster too yesterday.
Cliff Lee is a beast! What are the odds that he'll be a Yankee next season?
posted by BornIcon at 12:23 PM on October 07, 2010
If we're going solely by your blog link, then not only my eyes but also TBS's pitch monitoring graphic need seriously re-evaluated
Well, that graph (originally from Brooks Baseball, great site) is the Pitch f/x data and to be honest I'd trust that far more than TBS' in-house tool. Pitch f/x is being used to evaluate the umps so I would hope his calls and the data are pretty close.
Wow.
posted by deflated at 01:38 PM on October 07, 2010
Posted on another site, and stolen for this one:
Koufax- : 165-87, 131 ERA+ in 2,324 IP, 54.5 WAR, 0.8 HR/9, 2.93 K/BB
Halladay: 169-86, 136 ERA+ in 2,297 IP, 54.3 WAR, 0.8 HR/9, 3.53 K/BB
That's ridiculously close.
posted by grum@work at 08:27 PM on October 07, 2010
That's amazing. Especially considering they achieved those metrics is very different ways.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:04 PM on October 07, 2010
Simply the best.