the morning guys on my favorite radio station were talking about baseball no-hitters this morning; specifically about how one of the guys had never seen one start to finish, either in person or on tv.
it got me thinking about my #1 favorite sports moment - nolan ryan's 7th no-hitter on may 1, 1991, at which i was in attendance.
it was a wednesday night, late in my junior year of high school. i was just getting ready to go for a jog; literally out the front door when my mom yelled that i had a phone call. it was my buddy bill, who was calling to see if i wanted to go to the ranger game that night, spur of the moment. i think his mom had scored some half-price general admission coupons or something, which meant we'd each get in for $2. i told him i was about to run and had other shit to do, but asked who was on the hill for texas. he told me it was nolan going against jimmy key, also no slouch. it was always cool to watch nolan pitch, so i changed my plans and told him to come pick me up.
we called a few other friends, but no one was interested in going that night, so it was just the two of us. we settled in before the first pitch in the left field bleachers of old arlington stadium, right near the foul pole. not great seats, but for $2, no one was complaining. nolan was pedestrian in the 1st inning, striking out one and walking one. he started to heat up in the 2nd though, striking out the side and only throwing thirteen pitches. he struck out two in each of the third and fourth, only going to three balls once. you could tell he had his grade A shit and that the blue jays were in for a long night.
anytime nolan was pitching, there was always the possibility of a no-hitter. i think around the fourth was when bill and i started talking about it. it was one of those cases where you're aware that the guy is mowing people down, but not until you look at the zeroes on the scoreboard do you realize a no-no is going on. probably from that point on, there was a noticeable buzz in the stadium. the cheers got a bit louder with every out, especially the strikeouts.
the rangers got to jimmy key in the fourth with gary pettis scoring after stealing 3rd and a throwing error by the catcher, then added on with ruben sierra's two run homer.
after nolan struck out two in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth, all while giving up no hits of course, it was positively electric in that little minor league park with the metal bleachers that the rangers used to play in. every single out was cheered like the final out of a regular game. it even got to the point where people were standing with every two strike count. no one was leaving their seat to get beer or food or even to take a piss. if i had to bet, i'd put the over/under at 10 on the number of people that pissed themselves trying to hold it until the last out.
the only part of this game that was a beating was the doucher sitting to my right. i don't usually like talking to strangers. well this guy liked to chat early and often. of course bill thought it was great because he was on the other side of me and could avoid the whole developing situation. however, once everyone was hip to what was going on, he stopped chatting, but instead switched to one of my most hated of sports fan traditions; the high five. now i will high five as a player of sports with no problem. but only very few sports moments will make me load up and deliver a five as a fan. i remember the dallas cowboys winning a game on a last second TD over san francisco when i was in college and my roommate and i both jumped up and exchanged fives. afterwards, it was awkward, like we had just touched our tips or something during a threesome.
anyway, this guy wanted a fucking five AFTER EVERY SINGLE MOTHERHUMPING STRIKE. i actually laughed while typing this because i can remember sensing the five request before actually seeing it. i'd be yelling and cheering along with everyone else when i'd feel this fucking hand just off my right ear. he'd be looking at me with his goofy fucking mustachioed grin, holding his hand up in anticipation, and sort of nodding at me like, "c'mon, you know you want to". i did not want to. all of this was most amusing to bill, who started encouraging the dude by fiving him up unsolicited. eventually i started turning my back on the guy and letting bill five him across the gap.
funny aside about this guy; he managed a shoe store in a local mall - one that i frequented all the time. for months after, any time i went in his store, he'd make me tell his buddies that he was actually at the game. sometimes for my own amusement, i'd lay out on him and pretend i had no idea who he was and deny that i was even at that game. sometimes i'd pretend to not even know who nolan ryan was, just to take the piss out of him for needing all those goddamn fives.
back to the game. in the bottom of the eighth, the rangers put together a mini rally. juan gonzalez got his steriod swollen ass in the way of a pitched ball and then mike stanley hit a double. the crowd so badly wanted to see more nolan that they actually began to boo the home team for delaying it. order was restored when juando got caught stealing and steve buechele grounded out, which actually drew cheers.
while nolan warmed up in the ninth, i can barely even describe the atmosphere. it wasn't so much loud at that point, but more like a constant hum. i swear people were even cheering a bit when nolan would really pop one into stanley's mitt. have you ever seen a group of kids when they're waiting for something big, like opening xmas gifts? they do that nervous energy dance where they shift weight from one foot to the other or maybe hop. and they talk too much, unable to contain their excitement. that's what the stands were like. keep in mind, this was a very early season game with a team that finished around .500 the previous two seasons and had plenty of years where they finished in last. you'd never know it by being there. it was like late october, with rings on the line.
manuel lee lead off the 9th for toronto. after taking a ball, he grounded out to second. one down. after each pitch of the ninth, it would get quiet for about two seconds and then build to a tremendous crescendo. people were stomping and swaying like a fucking world cup match in brazil. many fives were exchanged, including some involving me.
devon white came up next. he went 3-2, which was agonizing, but then relented with another groundout to 2nd. one to go.
a pre-spitting roberto alomar came up after white. he worked the count to 2-2 and i thought for sure there would be at least one heart attack in the crowd. for his entire at-bat, flash bulbs were popping with each pitch. nolan brought the heat and alomar swung through it - NO FUCKING HITTER NUMBER SEVEN!
i'm not sure why, but i remember looking up at the stands behind me just in time to see a huge wave of beer cascading down. i'm sure it was accidental, due to someone lifting their arms in celebration and forgetting they still had a full cup of beer, but nevertheless we all got soaked. it didn't even matter. the players went nuts, the crowd continued going nuts and no one wanted to leave.
when bill and i finally walked back to the car, it was surreal. everyone in the long cattle trail of fans was friendly with each other, laughing and smiling at our shared experience. bill and i were both hoarse from screaming and we were already mocking our friends who had decided to skip. but it was also oddly depressing. like one second you were in this incredible moment and then next second you stink like beer and you're thinking about a trig test the next morning.
i know that for non sports fans, all of this will read like it's a bit much - "uh, dude, it was a baseball game, not jesus coming out of the womb on a unicorn with rainbow wings", but if you're a fan, it was overwhelming.
as a postscript to the guys on the radio, i also was a part of several perfect games in little league. my teammate was a little league version of nolan ryan and had more than one game where he struck out 18 out of 18 batters. these were decidedly less magical, and as a shortstop, they were pretty boring.
but unless i can be at a super bowl where the cowboys win in the final minute, i'm afraid this will be the pinnacle of my sports viewing. but it's a pretty damn good one. to this day, i carry in my wallet the $4 general admission ticket and the dot race ticket with may 1, 1991 printed on it.
Really nicely written, and a great story. I love that you still carry the ticket in your wallet. One of the greatest things about actually being there for a no-hitter is that you don't go into the game with any thought that it is going to happen. You are just going to the game with your buddy to drink some beers and enjoy 9-innings. Then the next thing you know, it turns into a possibility, and then an once-in-a-lifetime.
Posted by: Dawn | April 08, 2010 at 12:44 PM