Johan's Perfect No-Hitter - Gary Armida's Blog

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Johan's Perfect No-Hitter Stuck

Posted on June 4, 2012 at 09:09 AM.

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There are a few moments that only a Baseball game can offer. No other sport can match the magic of a walk off homerun or one of those dramatic 12 pitch at bats with the game on the line. It might be because of the game�s pace or that the very essence of a game involves a one on one confrontation. Last Friday night, Johan Santana faced the St. Louis Cardinals, the National League�s premier offense, and threw the first no-hitter of his career as well as the first in New York Mets� history. It was a night that illustrated the difference between Baseball and the other professional sports. A regular season Baseball game brought us intense drama, controversy, spectacular players, a great debate, and, most importantly, a historic no-hitter.

It was a night that, for a no-hitter, was absolutely perfect. It cast the perfect leading man in Johan Santana. It wasn�t all that long ago that Santana was the best pitcher in the game. He came to the Major Leagues as a 21 year old who had promise. The Twins chose to develop him at the Major League level by using him as a multi-inning reliever. In the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he would make 72 appearances for the Twins, 32 of them starts. He would post a 20-9 record with a 3.03 ERA in 266.2 innings. He was dominant, averaging 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Finally, the Twins would make him a full-time starter for the 2004 season.

From 2004 through 2007, Santana would be the game�s best pitcher. He won 70 games against 32 losses, posting a 2.89 ERA, a 0.990 WHIP, 7.0 H/9, 2.0 BB/9, and 9.7 K/9. During that time, he won two Cy Young Awards, made three all-star teams, and finished in the top 10 in the MVP balloting twice. In the winter of 2007, Santana was the name of the hot stove season. A year away from free agency and with no way of getting an ace deal from the Twins, his name was in every trade rumor. The New York Mets won the lottery and pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in Baseball history, giving up Deolis Guerra, Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, and Kevin Mulvey.

He would be every bit the ace the Mets were looking for in 2008, but then the injuries began. The velocity went from the 92 to 93 MPH range to the 90-91 MPH range. He missed about six starts in 2009, but came back in 2010 healthy and competing at a high level. During his 29th start of 2010, something in his shoulder gave way. After throwing just 65 pitches on September 2, 2010, Santana was removed from the game and wouldn�t see a Major League mound until this season on Opening Day. There were no direct comparisons to his type of shoulder injury. Many believed that since his velocity was diminished already, a comeback as anything more than a mediocre pitcher was unrealistic.

The will of an elite athlete is one that most can never understand. It takes great ego to become the best in a sport or to even just compete at that level. Most observers missed out on that one thing about Santana. Despite his diminishing velocity, he was, when healthy, still competing at an elite level. During the 2009 and 2010 seasons, Johan Santana was still eliciting swings and misses with pitches thrown in the strike zone nearly 15 percent of the time. He was making the adjustment from pure power pitcher to being a complete pitcher. As 2011 became a lost season, it was still unknown whether or not he would even be able to break camp with the Mets for 2012. He did and has been steadily upping his pitch count and inning count with each advancing start. He pitched a four hit shutout against the Padres on May 26th. His next start would be June 1st against the defending champion Cardinals.

It looked like it would be a difficult night for Santana who had trouble locating his fastball during the first couple innings. He retired the side in order in the first inning, but labored in the second. He would walk David Freese and Yadier Molina, but strike out the next two batters to end the inning. The first two innings would eat up 41 of his supposed 110 pitch limit. He helped that out a bit by throwing 9 strikes in the third inning to retire the side in order. As the game continued, Santana showed that he once again had made the adjustments to succeed with an 88 MPH fastball.

On the night, he threw 76 fastballs, averaging 88.25 MPH according to PitchFx data. He threw 38 changeups that averaged 77.32 MPH. That speed variance, along with his 20 sliders kept the Cardinals batters off balance. Johan Santana was the quintessential pitcher on Friday night. Every pitch had a purpose; every pitch was a different speed. He wasn�t Justin Verlander blowing hitters away with 100 MPH fastballs. Johan Santana was a pitcher in every sense of the word. If there was one game and one pitcher to completely show the thinking and artistry of pitching, it was Friday night and it was Johan Santana. He was a pitcher whose delivery was nearly flawless; He was, in the context of a no-hitter, perfect.

The night also offered what Baseball offers best: conversation. There has been a call for expanded instant replay as umpire mistakes are more scrutinized than ever. Carlos Beltran, the former Met, laced a line drive that was called foul. Instant replay showed that the ball actually hit the chalk line. It should have been a fair ball. But, it wasn�t ruled that way. Santana was allowed a chance at history much like Armando Galarraga was robbed of it a few seasons ago. That call will be debated for decades. While the object is to get the call right, Baseball does benefit from all of the conversation. Perhaps there will be replay one day, but on this night, the lack of it has filled radio waves, internet message boards, and many phone conversations.

The conversation also involves a 27 year old Queens native who has become a pinch hitter and, now, a part-time player because of injuries. Mike Baxter saved the no-hitter by catching a Yadier Molina line drive and crashing into the left field wall without any regard for his body. Baxter�s shoulder crunch against the wall, but he made the catch. The life long Mets fan preserved the no-hitter. It will cost him six to eight weeks to recover.

Perhaps the biggest talking point was the pitch count. Baseball has been a slave to the pitch count for nearly two decades, thinking it is a way to prevent injury. While fatigue is one of the main causes of pitching injuries, numerous studies have shown that pitch count does not correspond to injury. And, teams wouldn�t be spending close to a billion dollars on injured pitchers salaries like they have over the past four seasons. But, teams are fixated on the number 100. That number is more about conditioning than injury prevention. Most pitchers aren�t prepared to pitch much beyond that magical 100 pitch mark. But, the Mets, like most organizations, adhere to the pitch count and had Santana on a limit of about 110 or so.

As Santana progressed, his Manager Terry Collins looked as if he was in pain watching his ace rack up the pitch count without giving up a hit. Collins was in the most difficult situation of his career. Should he have allowed his ace, who is just months removed from a year and a half rehabilitation, chase history despite the high pitch count? Managers get fired for things like this, even if their teams are overachieving. Ultimately, he gave Santana the respect to finish the game. He gave Santana the respect to be the first pitcher in Mets� history to throw a no-hitter. Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Dwight Gooden, and all of the other former Cy Young Award winners who passed through Flushing couldn�t do it. Johan Santana, once on track to eclipse Seaver�s career, is the type of pitcher to be the first in a franchise�s history. While records and achievements like this don�t measure up against a team�s playoff chances, the pitch count was not enough to rule against it. Santana�s career will ultimately be spoken of in terms of �what could have been�, but two Cy Young Awards and now a no-hitter, illustrate just how good of a pitcher he has been.

134 is a high number. Santana never threw that many before. It is against all conventional wisdom. But, looking at his release point chart, his delivery looked consistent. There were no variances, meaning that fatigue did not impact his delivery. Of course, there will be additional soreness. The Mets have already said they may move Santana�s next start back a day or two. They are playing it smart. Even if they skip him once through the rotation, the 134 pitches were worth it. It gave a great pitcher a moment. And, it gave a franchise that has been bulldozed in the media for the past three seasons the first truly magical moment in Citi Field.

Pitch 134 was a changeup that David Freese swung over the top of. That last pitch epitomized the greatness of Santana�s feat. He made it back from major surgery and nearly two years of rehab. He finished his second consecutive complete game shutout. And, the changeup is a pitcher�s pitch, needing to be thrown at the precise speed and the precise location. He did just that, like he always has.

Johan Santana has managed to make it back to being a top of the rotation pitcher when it was thought impossible. Stuff wise, he isn�t the same. It doesn�t seem to matter as he has made the necessary adjustments. But, for one night, he was the back to being the best in the game. And, one the same night, the New York Mets did everything right. The no-hitter provided that perfect moment that only Baseball can provide.