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There really is no way to describe your emotions while sitting in the stands watching history unfold. Excited, ecstatic, happy, nervous, even scared..Your heart sits and pounds away while you realize you are witnessing something that has not happened for the Tigers since 1984. A no hitter.
As the night is unfolding, your watching things that are not the norm happening. Magglio Ordonez making a great defensive play. Something that usually does not happen for the below average fielder.
"With Magglio in the outfield, I didn't think he was going to catch it," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. A great defensive play by Neifi Perez diving to stop a sure base hit up the middle and turning it into a double play. The only reason he was in the game was because Guillen had tweaked a hamstring the game before. There was also one other great defensive play that was overlooked and not on the highlight reel. A ball was hit sharply down the first base line and took a bad hop. Sean Casey gobbled it up like nothing happened. Plays like these make you realize something special is brewing.
Boy, two paragraphs into this article and I have not mentioned the name of the young man who threw the no hitter. Well, his name is Justin Verlander. If Milwaukee did not know his name before the game. They do now.
Verlander's stuff was unbelievable last night. It seemed as if the hitters had no clue what he was throwing. If they did, it did not matter. He blew hitters away with his fastball and buckled their knees with his curve. If you ask Tony Graffanino how good Verlander's stuff was, I'm sure he would be complementary being he struck out 4 times.
A little piece of history for you as well. Verlander became one of only 7 pitchers to have a no hitter with 12 or more strikeouts in the history of the game. Seems kind of odd doesn't it. But if you think about it, you should be able to understand why. It usually takes more pitches to strike batters out. When you get up in the pitch count you get tired and make mistakes. That is the gist of it..
Back on a personal level, my wife was with me and was wondering what was going on. I told her I could not tell her because I was afraid to jinx what was going on..As soon as I got done saying that, another guy mentioned it to another person and said " now watch, because I said that I'll jinx the no hitter"..Just after he said that was the play Magglio had to dive and catch that ball hit to him..A few of us got on that guy for almost jinxing it...LOL...
But all in all, I really cant believe I am one of the very few people to have witnessed a no hitter at home by a Tiger pitcher. 1952 was the last time. 55 years ago.. Also being one of the few to witness the first no hitter in Comerica Parks history..For me, this is an unbelievable experience. I'm a huge baseball fan and somewhat a member of the "baseball elite". I could never imagine watching something like this in person. Hopefully I will get to witness more history this year..
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