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| Tim Lincecum tosses no hitter. Photo Credit:Doug Pensinger/Getty Images |
In a baseball season that continues to give us no hitters to enjoy and cherish, Tim Lincecum added to the last on Wednesday as he no hit the San Diego Padres at home in what turned out to be a 4-0 win for the San Francisco Giants.
By: Michael Hanley
This is Lincecum’s second career no hitter, joining elite company in overall baseball history as he has become only the second pitcher to no hit the same team twice in a career. The only other pitcher to hold such a high honor is one that no one in my generation or generations before me ever heard of. His name was Addie Joss who pitched two no hitters against the White Sox in, get this, in the years of 1908 and 1910. After Joss accomplished this feat, it had not been done for over 104 years, mind boggling when you think about it. All the generations of great pictures we have witnessed come and go, yet none of them were able to notch two no hitters against one team. It puts what Lincecum did on Wednesday even more remarkable.
Now this is no juggernaut of an offensive team he did this no hitter against. The Padres came into that game as the worst offensive team in all of baseball. These rankings speak for themselves: dead last in runs scored (239) , batting average (.216), on base percentage (.275) , and slugging percentage (.340). They collectively are on pace to set some very anemic offensive numbers for a season.
People have been pointing to these numbers as reason to not hold this no hitter in as high regard as other ones accomplished in recent memory. To try and take away from a feat that is so difficult to accomplish is nonsense.
The Padres have a major league lineup made up of professional hitters who are capable of getting a hit on any pitch they are thrown. Its not as if San Diego rolled over in every at bat and just let Lincecum get easy outs. They had an approach every time up and gave full effort to try and get a hit. Lincecum was just flat out better than any of them that day. Give credit where it is due, Lincecum’s no hitter should be celebrated and not picked apart to only be watered down by silly arguments.
This no hitter was not coming on the heels of a strong stretch of success for Lincecum. Coming into that start he was average at best as he sported a 5-5 record with a 4.90 ERA in 15 starts. So no one could foresee this moment happening , but that what is great about this sport, the unpredictability of it and knowing that anything can happen on a given day.
On the other side of this coin, the Padres painfully once again are on the short end of a no hitter. They now as a franchise, have been no hit nine times through their history. Its a scar that will only be remedied by one of their own throwing that first no hitter in franchise history and lifting this stigma from them. They have also never hit for the cycle, but one thing at a time. If the Mets can break their no hitter drought, San Diego can do just the same in the future.
Tim Lincecum is not the picture we once knew as the two time Cy Young award winner, piling up the wins and strikeouts, but its moments like this that we can really appreciate the skills and talent he still possesses and pitches with.
