Mariners tie record for most pitchers in a no-hitter

For the record, my rankings on who's the most recognizable would be:

20-game winner (15): ARI, LAD, NYY, STL, CLE, TOR, BOS, FLA, MIN, SEA, OAK, PIT, MIL, BAL, SDP

No-hitter (7): LAA, CHW, CHC, TEX, NYM, CIN, MON

DET (Verlander), PHI (Halladay), HOU (Oswalt + 5), KCR (Saberhagen) cancel themselves out, with the same pitcher on each list.

ATL and SFG have pitchers who are barely recognizable on either list.

So, by that unscientific count ... a no-hitter does NOT make you more famous than winning 20 games.

 

More importantly, winning 20 will get you paid more than 7 and a no-no. So, I'd rather win 20.

 

How the hell is Russ freakin' Ortiz the Braves' last 20-game winner?

 

Allow me to put a finer point on the original question and post this hypothetical:

Let's say Bob Costas, who we all know has been rigging MLB for decades using a Strat-o-Matic game in his rumpus room, comes up to you, a 22-year-old pitcher, and tells you your future. You will have an eight-year MLB career, and for the most part it'll be uneventful. Career record is a few games under .500, you play for three teams, you have elbow issues but no season-ending injuries and you'll spend the last year in middle relief before quitting (or going overseas to play in anonymity).

However, Costas does allow you a signature accomplishment for whoever remembers you. Would you rather have a 22-win season with career highs in ERA and strikeouts in a career in which your second-best record is 13-12? Or would you rather throw a midweek no-hitter against a respectable team in the middle of a random season, the tradeoff being that you never have a season with more than 13 wins? Follow-up: What gets you remembered most?

 

Good hypothetical, M-Meat.

I look at it this way ... in a couple of decades, who will Oakland A's fans remember from the 2000-2010 era as contributing more to the team's success ... Tim Hudson or Dallas Braden? At this point, it's Hudson.

I guess if it was me, I'd be greedy and want both the solid career AND the moment or two of historic greatness. In other words, Mark Buehrle.

 

Would you rather be Mark Fidrych or Joe Cowley (not that one)?

 

Dumb, racist, and homophobic is no way to go through life.

 

Well, if my little pissing match can get deleted, I certainly hope that last sophomoric post gets deep-sixed, too.

 

It depends on when it happened in my career, but odds are, I'd take the 22-win season. Unless it happened at the tail end of my career, a 22-win season could get me more money in my contract.

 

With the full effect of the 5-man rotation and the continual emphasis on pitch counts and early hooks, winning 20 is a real big deal now.

A no-hitter is almost just a random occurrence. The list is heavy with good pitchers, but that is almost self-evident.

 

You may not be able to figure out how serious it is. The rest of us don't have that problem.

The injury was serious enough for a veteran pitcher to leave a no-hitter in the seventh inning.

 

Thanks to BuckDub, I've got my new Braves trivia question.

No way in hell any casual Braves fan will name Russ Ortiz and 2003 as the last 20-win season for Atlanta.