When Matt Garza threw the fifth no-hitter of the season on July 26 (which would’ve been the sixth had Jim Joyce not blown a call that cost Armando Galarraga his perfect game) it became apparent that the 2010 Major League Baseball season was the year of the pitcher. For years, juiced sluggers have been crushing home runs and inflating pitchers ERA’s bigger than Barry Bonds’s head. Now pitchers were finally in charge.
And the way the 2010 playoffs began Wednesday, it looks as if the year of the pitcher will continue into October. Under the bright lights of the postseason, Roy Halladay made the greatest playoff debut in history. This was his first taste of October baseball in his 12 years in the Major Leagues and when he finally stepped on the mound, he didn’t take it for granted. And once catcher Carlos Ruiz threw out the final batter of the game, Halladay had done the unthinkable—he threw a no-hitter in the postseason. It was only the second time in history and the first time in over 50 years that it had been done. Before Halladay’s feat, Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series was the only other example.
Halladay also became the only pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter in the regular season and postseason in the same year. Making his accomplishment even more impressive, he did it against the Cincinnati Reds who scored the most runs in the National League this past season. It is scary that the league’s best pitcher might even be better in the postseason, when it really matters.
The playoffs this year are full of great pitchers, all of whom are in a class of their own. So is it too soon to put Halladay in a class of his own? Was Wednesday just a warm up for his perfect game in the National League Championship Series?
Let’s reassess the Phillies rotation now that we know about Halladay’s super-human skills and ability to focus when it matters most.
The defending champions, the New York Yankees, have ace CC Sabathia, but the rest of their rotation is questionable, with an old Andy Pettitte and an unproven, tired Phil Hughes. Meanwhile, the underdog Twins have the 2010 AL comeback player of the year, Francisco Liriano. After Liriano, they have several quality pitchers, but no one who is capable of completely dominating a game.
The Texas Rangers, who are looking to win their first postseason series in franchise history, have the right ace to do it in Cliff Lee. Lee was dominant in last season’s playoffs but fell two victories short of claiming a ring. This year, he will look to lead a staff of young pitchers to the Promised Land, but standing in his way are the young, exciting Rays, who have a lefty ace of their own. The young David Price is hoping that he can be the strong pitcher the young team needs, and their offense is potent enough to give him support.
In what might be the most underrated series of the first round, the San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves are another pair of newcomers with plenty of young talent. The Giants may be the team that will rely on their pitching the most, with the one-two punch of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain. Their third starter, Jonathan Sanchez, isn’t too shabby either, posting a 3.07 ERA during the regular season. The Braves will hope that veteran pitchers Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson have enough left in the tank to carry them past the Giant’s young guns.
The league was put on notice Wednesday, after Halladay’s historic night. The year of the pitcher may soon become the year of Halladay, with the pitcher not just carving out a spot in the history books, but rewriting them.
