Although it feels like the Major League Baseball season ended a while ago, it's already just a couple months until pitchers and catchers start to report for spring training. Before anyone knows it another season will go by and there will be a new World Series champion.
The 2012 season saw the San Francisco Giants stake out the beginning of a dynasty in the Bay area after winning their second World Series in three years and also saw some history around the league when it comes to pitching, as there were three perfect games in the same season for the first time in history.
The World Series champions had one pitched by Matt Cain, while the Seattle Mariners participated in the other two--one going against them, one going for them.
Philip Humber pitched the first one of the season on April 21 in Seattle at Safeco Field for the Chicago White Sox, while Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez threw the third one of the year in August (making it the THIRD no-hitter at Safeco in 2012, including the combined no-hitter thrown by six Seattle pitchers earlier in the year).
Matt Cain, June 13, 2012
San Francisco Giants 10, Houston Astros 0
It is said by many in baseball that every no-hitter or perfect game has at least one "amazing" or "above-average" defensive play from someone in the field that keeps the game alive. If that is a rule, this game had the perfect examples of it.
Cain pitched a phenomenal game, striking out a career-high 14 batters, but it would have never happened without two plays from outfielders Melky Cabrera and Gregor Blanco.
Cabrera made a leaping catch at the outfield wall in the sixth inning, while Blanco tracked down a hard-hit fly ball in the seventh. Jordan Schafer was the first batter of the inning and smoked a ball to right center field deep in the gap. Seemingly out of nowhere, Blanco dove back towards the warning track to make the catch.
"Those were unbelievable catches," Cain said to the Associated Press at the time. "I mean that right there, that changes the whole thing."
Cain's perfect game was the fourth no hitter of the season in the major leagues--along with Johan Santana, six Seattle pitchers against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jered Weaver--and was the first for the Giants in franchise history.
Making Cain's game even more impressive, he tied Sandy Koufax for the most strikeouts in a perfect game with 14 and threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 27 batters he faced, an amazing 70.4 percent, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Cain struck out half of the batters looking and struck out 11 using his fastball.
Felix Hernandez, August 15, 2012
Seattle Mariners 1, Tampa Bay Rays 0
There wasn't very much to cheer about in Seattle this season as the Mariners finished in last place in the American League West, but fans were treated to two special pitching gems in 2012: a combined no-hitter from six pitchers in June and the franchise's first perfect game from the team's franchise star, Felix Hernandez.
In perfect Mariners fashion, the team scored only one run, but on that sunny day in Seattle, it was all Hernandez would need to win. He said after the game that he felt like he could pitch a perfect game when he took the mound and it actually didn't take him by surprise. Talk about confidence.
Either way, Hernandez was simply "perfect" against the Rays, striking out 12 batters on 113 pitches while generating a season-high 26 swings and misses. The strike zone was called a bit wide for most of the game, but King Felix was still on the top of his game.
According to ESPN.com, Hernandez averaged a season-high 93.2 mph with his fastball and gradually increased his velocity as it got deeper in the game. Amazingly, the Rays have been involved in five of the past 16 no-hitters, getting it done to them four times while having Matt Garza throw one.
The lone run for the Mariners came on a single by Jesús Montero in the third inning off of Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson, who pitched seven innings against Hernandez. Seattle made a number of nice plays in the field for Hernandez, but none on the level of Blanco's catch from Matt Cain's perfect game.
The toughest play of the game came in the seventh inning on a hard grounder from B.J. Upton that went by third baseman Kyle Seager, but right to shortstop Brendan Ryan, who was in perfect position to make the play. Had Seager actually snagged it, who know what would have happened.
The final out of the game for Hernandez came fittingly, on a strikeout. Hernandez fell behind Sean Rodriguez 2-0 after throwing a cut fastball and a slider, but battled back with a swinging strike and two changeups that he never even swung at. The 23rd perfect game in the history of baseball also marked the first time that two perfect games were pitched in the same stadium in the same season, following Humber's from April.
The rest of the No-No's from 2012:
- Philip Humber, Perfect Game, April 21, 2012
Chicago White Sox 4, Seattle Mariners 0
The first perfect game at Safeco Field this season.
- Jered Weaver, May 2, 2012
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 9, Minnesota Twins 0
The first career no-hitter for a pitcher who will likely throw another one by the time he's done playing.
- Johan Santana, June 1, 2012
New York Mets 8, St. Louis Cardinals 0
The first no-hitter in Mets history was a long time coming and one of the only things fans had to cheer for this season.
- The Six Pitcher No-Hitter, June 8, 2012
Kevin Millwood, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetge, Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen
Seattle Mariners 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0
The second no-hitter of the season at Safeco was a strange one, as Millwood had to leave the game with an injury. History would be made again later in the season with King Felix.
- Homer Bailey, September 28, 2012
Cincinnati Reds 1, Pittsburgh Pirates 0
One of the latest no-hitters in baseball history came after The Reds already clinched the NL Central.
