As a diehard baseball fan the history of the game is extremely important. Baseball is called “America’s Pastime” because it has been there through the wars, the great depression, through civil rights battles and the constant changes in our nation. For a baseball fan getting the opportunity to experience baseball history live is something that any baseball fan hopes for.
On Friday June 8th, 2012 I got the opportunity to experience something that I never thought I would ever be a part of. I was at Safeco field the night that six Seattle Mariner pitchers combined to through a no-hitter. In my lifetime I have had the opportunity of playing in one game where a no-hitter was thrown (I was 15 and two of my teammates combined to throw a no-hitter), I watched the perfect game thrown against the Mariners this season on TV, but to watch a no-hitter in person was something I had never seen at the Major League level and honestly never thought I would.
What makes this experience even better for me is that this game was the first ever baseball game, of any level, that my six week old daughter had ever been too. Now I know she won’t remember any part of this trip, but I will. For the rest of my life I will know that I got to experience one of the greatest moments in Mariners history, as well as baseball history with my daughter.
A side from my daughter being there with me there was a lot in the game that was amazing. From Steven Pryor getting his first ever career win in the no-hitter, to the game being finished by Tom Wilhelmsen who just a few years ago wasn’t even in baseball because he had walked away from the game and was a bartender.
The part that made the game even better was that it was a close game. Winning a game 1-0 is always full of drama, but winning a no-hitter 1-0 is a nonstop adrenaline rush for fans. The game may have been entirely different if Dee Gordon was a bit taller and would of caught Kyle Seager’s RBI hit, or if Seager or Brendan Ryan would have been a split second slower on their two throws to get Gordon out in the game.
I know a lot of people are not baseball fans, and for them they don’t understand why I along with thousands of other fans were and still are so excited about what happened on Friday night, but I’m guessing if you’re reading my blog that you’re not one of those people that doesn’t understand.
Congratulations to the six pitchers who combined for the no hitter; Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Steven Pryor, Lucas Lutge, Brandon League, and Tom Wilhelmsen.
I just stumbled across your blog after coming home from watching Vancouver beat Everett 4-3 in front of a typically packed house at Nat Bailey. I live in Vancouver, and I’m also a huge fan of the NWL. Last season I also had the luck of being part of Justin Verlander’s second career no-hitter in Toronto as the Tigers crushed my Blue Jays 9-0. It was a surreal experience… abandoning team loyalty after the sixth inning when it became apparent we were about to see something historic. They really did pound us that game too… the game was out of reach by the 3rd inning, and Verlander touched 100mph+ into the 9th. His only mistake was a single walk on a full count to J.P. Arencibia… that close to perfection. I’m sure it must have been a completely different experience cheering on a no-hitter for your own team, and one that used six pitchers must have been a crazy experience. But nonetheless, I wouldn’t trade seeing that no-hitter for anything even if my team was blown out. Very few of us lucky fans get to witness that. Anyways, keep up the great work with your blog… now that I’ve found it I’ll be checking back regularly. Looks like the C’s and AquaSox are going to go neck-and-neck to the end of the first half… should be fun!