Verlander's No-No

I watched a DVD last night and when it was over I clicked over to ESPN to see what was happening. I learned, to my pleasant surprise, that Tiger pitcher Justin Verlander had just completed a n0-hitter. For the next half-hour or so I watched the coverage, and felt a nice warm sports glow.

The last Tigers no-hitter was hurled by Jack Morris in 1984, also the last year the Tigers won the World Series. Good omen? It was the first no-no at Comerica Park, and the first by a Tiger pitcher in Detroit since 1952. Morris' no-hitter was in Chicago, and my father attended that game (he lived near Chicago at the time). I haven't been in touch with him yet, but I imagine he watched the game last night.

ESPN replayed all the highlights, including the ninth inning in its entirety. Ordonez made a great sliding catch on the seat of his pants in the 7th inning, and Neifi Perez (filling in for the usual shortstop Carlos Guillen) made a super stab of a hot grounder that he turned into a bang-bang double-play. Verlander struck out two in the bottom of the ninth (for a total of 12). His curve ball was wicked, and his heater was clocked at 102 mph--in the ninth inning! The last out came on an easy pop fly to right, and then there was bedlam.

In their 107-year history, the Tigers only have six no-hitters, and this is only the second in my lifetime. However, as my Met fan friends are well aware, that franchise has yet to have one. The no-hitter really is a magical event in baseball. Every game has the potential to be one--how often have you heard someone say, when the first batter of the game gets a hit, "There goes the no-hitter." To be in attendance at one is the Holy Grail for many baseball fans (even better than getting a foul ball, I think). I'm sorry I didn't get to see this one live but I enjoyed the celebration nonetheless.