Highlights From Matt Cain's Perfect Game

Matt Cain - Celebrating his perfect game vs the Houston Astros
Photo: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

On Wednesday night, San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain hurled the 22nd perfect game in major league baseball history. No hits, no walks, no errors. In the historic pitching outing against the Houston Astros, Cain also tied the record for most strikeouts (14) in a no-hit baseball game.

Of course, baseball is a team sport, and while a perfect game requires remarkable pitching, it also takes some damned impressive fielding. The pressure builds on the team's defense as the game progresses, but the Giants' stepped up to the challenge. Melky Cabrera snagged a deep drive at the wall in the 6th inning, and in the top of the 7th, Gregor Blanco sprinted into centerfield to make a spectacular diving catch that kept Cain's perfect game in tact.

You can see the highlights from Cain's perfect game here, including the phenomenal plays of Cabrera and Blanco. Let the video play, and you'll also see the final pitch of the game, which resulted in a tough grounder to Joaquin Arias at third base and his tension-filled throw to first that ended the game. 

Congrats to Matt Cain and the San Francisco Giants on the first perfect game in the team's 130-year history.

Rookie Hit By Phillies' Hamels Gets Last Laugh

Last night, Philadelphia Phillies pitching ace Cole Hamels intentionally beaned Washington Nationals rookie Bryce Harper in the small of the back with the first pitch he threw to the 19 year-old.

Amazingly, after the game Hamels admitted to targeting the 93-mph fastball directly at Harper as a "welcome to the big leagues."

Harper suffered no serious injury and took first base immediately upon being hit by the pitch. Later in the inning after advancing to third base, Harper returned the favor and played a joke of his own on Hamels, by successfully stealing home and scoring a run after Hamels attempted to check a runner at first base.

After Harper paid Hamels back his way, Major League Baseball still had to weigh in on the incident. In response to Hamels' post-game admission, MLB issued a 5-game suspension to the pitcher for intentionally throwing at the rookie.

You seldom see a base runner steal home plate in the majors - this video from ESPN breaks down the play perfectly.

Turn of Phrase - Best Ozzie Guillen Quotes

Ozzie Guillen
Photo: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

"I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that motherf*cker is still here."

- From Ozzie Guillen, manager of baseball's Miami Marlins, who was suspended for 5 games by the team for comments he made about Fidel Castro during a recent media interview.

You don't need a PhD in cultural anthropology to know that Fidel Castro is literally the worst person for whom you could announce your "respect" in the Miami metropolitan area. Praising the Cuban dictator's longevity in South Florida is about as popular a move as admiring Rick Santorum's unyielding social conservatism in San Francisco's Castro district. 

Guillen has a long history of saying all the wrong things. In fact, the Marlins manager prides himself on bluntly speaking his mind, seldom apologizing to people or groups he offends, and even bragging once to interviewer Bryant Gumbel that he "likes trouble."

It's hard to say whether Guillen's Castro remark outshines his previous controversial best. In 2006, during his tenure as manager of the Chicago White Sox, Guillen referred to a Chicago sportswriter he disliked as a "fag." Given the overwhelming unpopularity of Castro among South Florida's plentiful Cuban baseball fans, versus the unpopularity of the word "fag" among an unknown number of pro-gay Chicago baseball fans, I'd have to say the Castro comment tops Guillen's list. 

You can find some of Guillen's less controversial quotes here. 

Baseball, Enough Already

NPR's Frank Deford is right on time (and right on the mark) with his plea to Major League Baseball to shorten the season by about a month. I enjoy baseball as much as the next person, which is to say about three innings in one sitting if I'm watching a game on television, or with a couple of hot dogs and a few giant beers if I'm attending a game in person. For the love of Wrigley Field though, 162 games in a season is ridiculous! Baseball is clearly less physically demanding on its players than other major sports, but they don't need to drag the regular season out forever just because they can.

I agree with Deford in the article linked below - end the regular season around Labor Day and get all the way through the playoffs in September. I'm ready for some football!

Too Many Days Hath September