John Means Business
May 5, 2021 7:00 PM Subscribe
In 2018, John Means was a 25-year-old soft-tossing lefty in his third straight year of double-A. Drafted in the 11th round by the Baltimore Orioles, and making it only up to #29 on the team's prospect list, the end of his baseball career seemed near enough that he set up a LinkedIn page advertising his (limited) experience as a substitute teacher.
Today, he no-hit the Seattle Mariners, becoming the first Orioles starter to throw a no-hitter since Jim Palmer more than 50 years ago.
His record on the year is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA. Means struck out 12 and walked none, allowing a baserunner only on a third-strike wild pitch that allowed Sam Haggerty to reach first base. (He was caught stealing, so Means faced the minimum 27 batters for the game.) His game score of 99 was the best in the history of the team.
From Means's writeup on the 2017 Orioles prospect list: "Means is never going to miss many bats, but he knows how to get outs and rarely hurts himself with walks. All in all, Means has the makings of a future back-end starter who could also serve as a solid lefty reliever capable of working multiple frames."
His record on the year is 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA. Means struck out 12 and walked none, allowing a baserunner only on a third-strike wild pitch that allowed Sam Haggerty to reach first base. (He was caught stealing, so Means faced the minimum 27 batters for the game.) His game score of 99 was the best in the history of the team.
From Means's writeup on the 2017 Orioles prospect list: "Means is never going to miss many bats, but he knows how to get outs and rarely hurts himself with walks. All in all, Means has the makings of a future back-end starter who could also serve as a solid lefty reliever capable of working multiple frames."
I don't watch much baseball, but I like it enough to appreciate one of these "ya never know" stories that goes so well with the game.
posted by rhizome at 7:19 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 7:19 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Another bit of weirdness: There have been three no-hitters so far this season, and all three would have been perfect games except for slight, relatively unusual miscues -- a batter hit by a pitch in the first two, and Means' wild pitch on strike three in this one. (For non-baseball folks: Usually the difference between a no-hitter and a perfect game is that the pitcher walks a hitter or two.)
posted by martin q blank at 7:20 PM on May 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by martin q blank at 7:20 PM on May 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
So what’s the secret of his dramatic improvement? Doctoring the ball with a foreign substance? Steroids? Hard work?
posted by interogative mood at 7:21 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 7:21 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Pitchers have been beating hitters steadily for a few years now. They are talking about moving the pitcher's mound back a little, just to give hitters an additional fraction of a second to swing.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:32 PM on May 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 7:32 PM on May 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
It’s been especially brutal for hitters this season though (maybe they’ll improve when it warms up). But this is maybe not a surprise? The new, “deadened” baseball probably has something to do with the overall trend generally (if not specifically Means’ historic performance).
posted by notyou at 7:46 PM on May 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 7:46 PM on May 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
How do the players on the other team feel about this though? In my school we'd have made sure they both got a go.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:53 PM on May 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:53 PM on May 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
Go birds.
When I was the commish of a fantasy baseball league back in...2010, 11ish, I proposed and added two scoring categories: perfect games, and hitting through the cycle. I think we had it for 2 or 3 seasons, it rarely came into play, my players loved it, and it did sort of accentuate that thing that real baseball exhibits at its best, that emotional statistical poetry.
Fun baseball trivia question: where was baseball's first perfect game pitched?
posted by vrakatar at 8:12 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
When I was the commish of a fantasy baseball league back in...2010, 11ish, I proposed and added two scoring categories: perfect games, and hitting through the cycle. I think we had it for 2 or 3 seasons, it rarely came into play, my players loved it, and it did sort of accentuate that thing that real baseball exhibits at its best, that emotional statistical poetry.
Fun baseball trivia question: where was baseball's first perfect game pitched?
posted by vrakatar at 8:12 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
It occurs to me that it should be possible to throw a complete game no-hitter in a nine inning game, and yet face only 25 batters instead of the usual minimum of 27.
In this game, if Sam Haggerty had taken second on a bad throw to first, stolen third and then scored on a sacrifice fly, say, and the Mariners didn't get any hits through eight innings, and the Mariner pitchers had shut out the Orioles through eight, and then the Mariners did not allow any runs in the top of the ninth as well, then the game would have been over at that point, and Means would have had his no-hitter having faced only 25 batters because the Mariners would not bat in the ninth. But Means would have lost the game 1-0.
I wonder whether anything like that has ever happened.
posted by jamjam at 8:53 PM on May 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
In this game, if Sam Haggerty had taken second on a bad throw to first, stolen third and then scored on a sacrifice fly, say, and the Mariners didn't get any hits through eight innings, and the Mariner pitchers had shut out the Orioles through eight, and then the Mariners did not allow any runs in the top of the ninth as well, then the game would have been over at that point, and Means would have had his no-hitter having faced only 25 batters because the Mariners would not bat in the ninth. But Means would have lost the game 1-0.
I wonder whether anything like that has ever happened.
posted by jamjam at 8:53 PM on May 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
It occurs to me that it should be possible to throw a complete game no-hitter in a nine inning game, and yet face only 25 batters instead of the usual minimum of 27.
The definition of no-hitter states that "An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings." So if the pitcher didn't get (at least) 27 outs, he would not have *officially* pitched nine complete innings. But the rule as written dates from 1991, and prior to that there were a couple of occurrences of the 'no-winner' no-hitter, including a 4-0 White Sox defeat of the Yankees which had probably prompted the (re)definition.
posted by hangashore at 9:18 PM on May 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
The definition of no-hitter states that "An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings." So if the pitcher didn't get (at least) 27 outs, he would not have *officially* pitched nine complete innings. But the rule as written dates from 1991, and prior to that there were a couple of occurrences of the 'no-winner' no-hitter, including a 4-0 White Sox defeat of the Yankees which had probably prompted the (re)definition.
posted by hangashore at 9:18 PM on May 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
That rule does not say the pitcher has to pitch in nine innings, though.
As you state it, the pitcher only has to allow "no hits in the entire course of a game, which consists of nine innings."
In all games in which the home team is ahead after the top of the ninth, there is no bottom of the ninth. If those games are not nine inning games, then no winning pitcher on the home team could ever throw a no-hitter unless the game went to extra innings, which would be absurd.
posted by jamjam at 9:33 PM on May 5, 2021
As you state it, the pitcher only has to allow "no hits in the entire course of a game, which consists of nine innings."
In all games in which the home team is ahead after the top of the ninth, there is no bottom of the ninth. If those games are not nine inning games, then no winning pitcher on the home team could ever throw a no-hitter unless the game went to extra innings, which would be absurd.
posted by jamjam at 9:33 PM on May 5, 2021
Jamjam, the winning pitcher *always* throws at least nine innings (if he pitches a complete game and there's no rain delay etc. etc.).
You skip the bottom of the ninth, which means the winning home team bats in eight innings. But they pitch in nine.
posted by mark k at 10:31 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
You skip the bottom of the ninth, which means the winning home team bats in eight innings. But they pitch in nine.
posted by mark k at 10:31 PM on May 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
But in that case the home team's pitcher(s) has/have pitched the requisite nine (defensive) innings and recorded 27 outs without allowing a hit, thus satisfying the requirements for a no-hitter regardless of whether the offence has to bat or not. They'd also be credited with a no-hitter if they'd allowed a run in a manner similar to what you'd described (reached base on error, stole base, sac fly) and the home team had been shut out all game, including the now-necessary bottom of the ninth. The key is the (minimum) 27 outs without a hit, i.e. nine complete pitched innings. Or, on preview, what mark k just said (much more succinctly).
And you're quite correct, more than one pitcher can share credit for a no-hitter.
posted by hangashore at 10:33 PM on May 5, 2021
And you're quite correct, more than one pitcher can share credit for a no-hitter.
posted by hangashore at 10:33 PM on May 5, 2021
Just look at what happened not even a fortnight ago: Why Madison Bumgarner's seven-inning no-hitter wasn't really a no-hitter
Go Giants!
posted by chavenet at 12:50 AM on May 6, 2021
Go Giants!
posted by chavenet at 12:50 AM on May 6, 2021
OK, but please allow me one more click of the ratchet. Here is the paragraph in the Wikipedia article you linked, hangashore:
Means would have gone out to the mound in the bottom of the ninth having faced only 24 batters and allowed no hits. Suppose he strikes out the first batter but the catcher drops the ball, then throws it over the head of the first baseman, so the batter tries for third, and the first baseman throws it over the third baseman's head and the batter scores.
Game over. But Means has thrown all nine innings of a complete nine inning game without allowing a hit while facing only 25 batters and getting 24 of them out. By the rules enunciated in that paragraph he has thrown a no-hitter.
If you want to require him to get 27 outs for it to qualify as a no-hitter, fine. But that's not what it says.
posted by jamjam at 2:02 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
A no-hitter is defined by MLB: "An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings."[1] This 1991 definition by MLB's Committee for Statistical Accuracy caused previously recognized no-hitters of fewer than nine innings or where the first hit had been allowed in extra innings to be stricken from the official record books. Games lost by the visiting team in 8+1⁄2 innings but without allowing any hits do not qualify as no-hitters, as the visiting team has only pitched eight innings.[2][3]Consider a game like the one under discussion except that Baltimore has scored no runs through 8+1/2.
Means would have gone out to the mound in the bottom of the ninth having faced only 24 batters and allowed no hits. Suppose he strikes out the first batter but the catcher drops the ball, then throws it over the head of the first baseman, so the batter tries for third, and the first baseman throws it over the third baseman's head and the batter scores.
Game over. But Means has thrown all nine innings of a complete nine inning game without allowing a hit while facing only 25 batters and getting 24 of them out. By the rules enunciated in that paragraph he has thrown a no-hitter.
If you want to require him to get 27 outs for it to qualify as a no-hitter, fine. But that's not what it says.
posted by jamjam at 2:02 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
How do the players on the other team feel about this though? In my school we'd have made sure they both got a go.
The great thing is that it’s possible for both teams’ pitchers to get a no-hitter in the same game! I mean, you’d need something like the weird scenario jamjam postulated in order for someone to score and actually end the game, but...
posted by nickmark at 5:36 AM on May 6, 2021
The great thing is that it’s possible for both teams’ pitchers to get a no-hitter in the same game! I mean, you’d need something like the weird scenario jamjam postulated in order for someone to score and actually end the game, but...
posted by nickmark at 5:36 AM on May 6, 2021
Means is the first single.pircher to throw a no hitter for the Orioles since Palmer fifty years ago. But Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, and Gregg Olson combined to throw one in 1991.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:31 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:31 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
In theory you could have both pitchers throw a perfect game because the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
posted by Mitheral at 6:33 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by Mitheral at 6:33 AM on May 6, 2021
Game over. But Means has thrown all nine innings of a complete nine inning game without allowing a hit while facing only 25 batters and getting 24 of them out. By the rules enunciated in that paragraph he has thrown a no-hitter.
Nope. He's still only thrown 8 innings. When you check the box score the next day that's what it will say. If he'd gotten one batter out it'd be eight and a third inning, two outs it'd be eight and two thirds. In baseball parlance he's pitched "into the ninth" but has not "pitched the ninth."
posted by mark k at 6:35 AM on May 6, 2021
Nope. He's still only thrown 8 innings. When you check the box score the next day that's what it will say. If he'd gotten one batter out it'd be eight and a third inning, two outs it'd be eight and two thirds. In baseball parlance he's pitched "into the ninth" but has not "pitched the ninth."
posted by mark k at 6:35 AM on May 6, 2021
I’m a lifelong Ms fan, as is my son who is graduating from high school and moving out this summer. Our favorite games to attend are mid-week matinees, in part for the fun of playing hooky.
Two weeks ago I grabbed us tix for Ms v. Orioles on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 4. Then basked in the anticipation of attending my first live event in over a year plus bittersweet nostalgia for the little kid who wouldn’t take his tiny baseball glove off the entire game and didn’t want to miss a pitch of batting practice.
That all changed when we got to the park yesterday and saw that Means and his sub-2.00 ERA was starting for the Orioles. See the Ms haven’t been hitting even mediocre pitching and, well, I had a bad feeling. So I immediately started joking that we were gonna get the chance to witness a no-hitter, as a sort of sad, desperate attempt at jinxing Means.
And the rest is history.
Anyway, kudos to Means. What a great story. And maybe this is just a bump in the road to the Ms first playoff appearance in my kid’s entire goddam life, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
posted by lumpy at 6:57 AM on May 6, 2021 [9 favorites]
Two weeks ago I grabbed us tix for Ms v. Orioles on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 4. Then basked in the anticipation of attending my first live event in over a year plus bittersweet nostalgia for the little kid who wouldn’t take his tiny baseball glove off the entire game and didn’t want to miss a pitch of batting practice.
That all changed when we got to the park yesterday and saw that Means and his sub-2.00 ERA was starting for the Orioles. See the Ms haven’t been hitting even mediocre pitching and, well, I had a bad feeling. So I immediately started joking that we were gonna get the chance to witness a no-hitter, as a sort of sad, desperate attempt at jinxing Means.
And the rest is history.
Anyway, kudos to Means. What a great story. And maybe this is just a bump in the road to the Ms first playoff appearance in my kid’s entire goddam life, but I’m not getting my hopes up.
posted by lumpy at 6:57 AM on May 6, 2021 [9 favorites]
'My dad was there today': Orioles' Means felt late father's presence at no-hitter
posted by tonycpsu at 8:30 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tonycpsu at 8:30 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Tip of the cap to Means, and also to the Bermanism that is the post title, nicely played.
posted by riverlife at 9:14 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by riverlife at 9:14 AM on May 6, 2021
I saw an article today that said that this season's "dead" ball tends to have more drag, keeping some potential homers in the park. And it also has thicker seams that allow the pitcher to grip the ball better and give the ball more spin.
I forget where I saw it and can't find it on my usual sites.
posted by Billiken at 11:49 AM on May 6, 2021
I forget where I saw it and can't find it on my usual sites.
posted by Billiken at 11:49 AM on May 6, 2021
Seattle still has a baseball team?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:33 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:33 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Slarty, I see your soul has continued to shrivel.
posted by skyscraper at 6:05 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by skyscraper at 6:05 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
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