Opening Day is on the horizon for 28 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams. Everybody who was not paid an additional $40,000 to make a business trip to Japan still has to break the seal on the 2008 season. That means that 28 starting pitchers are anxiously anticipating the opportunity to help their teams begin the year on the right note. No matter how hard they try, chances are they will not be able to match the performance that was delivered by a 21-year old from Iowa nearly 70 years ago.
On Opening Day in 1940, Bob Feller hurled a no-hitter for the Cleveland Indians against the Chicago White Sox. The “Van Meter Heater” chilled the bats of the homestanding White Sox on a blustery afternoon along the shores of Lake Michigan. With a level of focus, determination, and resiliency against the elements normally reserved for sled dog mushers, the fourth-year pro battled through the wind-driven sleet and gave the 14,000 frigid fans huddled in Comiskey Park something to remember besides their frostbite. Feller was afforded only one run to work with, but that was enough as he overcame five walks and recorded the final out with the potential game-tying run on base. Feller’s gem remains as the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball history.
It is difficult to imagine that another pitcher in the current baseball climate will ever be able to equalize Feller’s feat. Players are kept on strict pitch counts, particularly early in the season. Managers fear burning out a pitcher’s arm more than general managers fear signing Barry Bonds to a multi-year contract. Even if things are going well, starters are rarely given the chance to complete what they start.
Nobody is immune from getting what I call the “Double Early”. That stands for getting the early hook in an early season game, not the name of a drink served in that town down on Highway 71.
Nolan Ryan, who registered a record seven no-hitters during his career, was handed a Double Early in 1990. He tossed five innings of hitless ball for the Texas Rangers in their season opener before manager Bobby Valentine ordered up a Double Early for his ace. Two months later, Ryan did go the distance while notching his sixth career no-hitter. But it wasn’t on Opening Day.
Last April, Milwaukee Brewer all-star Ben Sheets delivered one of the finest opening day starts in recent memory. He threw a complete game two-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though he kept his pitch count low and was able to finish the game, he wasn’t able to finish the season. For the third straight year, Sheets was hampered by injuries.
Although there was likely no correlation between Sheets having worked deeply into a game right away to start the spring with having gotten injured, that thought will undoubtedly be murmured by somebody in the press box when Milwaukee takes the field on Monday. I would be stunned if Brewers manager Ned Yost allowed Sheets to throw more than the 104 pitches he threw last year on Opening Day. Even if Sheets can hold the Chicago Cubs hitless for a while, I bet he stands to get a Double Early. Leaving him on the mound much longer than 100 pitches would open Yost up to criticism from Oconomowoc to Onalaska.
Feller was allowed to record his no-hitter in an environment free from pitch count restraints. Going the distance in the opener didn’t hurt him down the road either. Later in the season, Feller fired a one-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia. He went on to compile league-high totals that year in strikeouts, wins, earned-run average, shutouts, and complete games. Feller’s 27 wins during that campaign was a career-high mark.
Each of this year’s Opening Day starters would happily take Feller’s numbers from 1940 as their own for this season. Since nobody has won 27 games on the mound since 1990, it is highly unlikely that anyone will match Feller’s performance. But even more unlikely is any of them duplicating his historic season-opening no-hitter.