Baseball Universe | 9
Yearbook 1, 2012|Let‟s make baseball a more universal game.
PHILIP HUMBER (CWS) PERFECT GAME April 21st.
righthanded ace struck out nine and walked one (Josh Willingham in the seventh inning), while Chris Parmelee also reached base when catcher Chris Ianetta committed a passed ball on a third strike in the second inning. Before a 27,288 crowd, Weaver threw 121 pitches and was aided by his team’s offense, and a bit of luck, when a line drive by Trevor Plouffe went just foul a few feet before the left-field foul pole. Were Weaver’s eyes hooking it? One never knows. It would be almost a full month before another hurler subdued opponents in such a way. Johan Santana,
(Coming from page 8)
on a fly ball by Kyle Seager, which intended to land in no-man’s land for a base hit and break the gem.
JOHAN SANTANA (NYM) NO-HITTER
June 1st. Eleven days later, on May 2nd , the Angels’ Jered Weaver baffled the Minnesota Twins and left them hitless in a complete game 9-0 victory. The now with the New York Mets, and obviously past his prime, threw the first no-no in team history, as he JERED WEAVER (LAA) defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0. It was the Mets’ NO-HITTER 8,020th game. If people were outraged by Jim Joyce’s ruling in 2010, which robbed Armando Galarraga of a May 2nd. perfect game, they might have something to say, as third base umpire Adrian Johnson called foul a line drive hit by Carlos Beltran in sixth inning that hit the chalk foul line, exactly on the second anniversary of the “imperfect game”. With the no-no intact, Santana just needed a little help from outfielder Mike Baxter to rob Yadier Molina of extra bases in the seventh frame. The Venezuelan southpaw tossed 134 pitches (a career high) and struck out eight while giving five free tickets before 27,069 fans.
Then, more bizarre things. The Seattle Mariners decided it was time they had a no-hitter of their own, and since they could not make (Continued on page 10)
PHOTO CREDITS: (TOP LEFT) OTTO GREULE, JR/GETTY IMAGES; (CENTER RIGHT) MIKE STOBE/GETTY IMAGES; (BOTTOM LEFT) CSM LANDOV