“How many pitchers have celebrated a no-hitter coming from the on-deck circle?” asked one of the Marlins announcers after a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning made the final score 1–0, thereby securing Henderson Alvarez’s no-hitter against the Tigers.
Never? (Honestly, I have no clue.)
What I do know is that the 23-year-old Alvarez, who threw only 99 pitches, walked one batter and hit another, became only the third pitcher in MLB history to record a no-hitter in the final game of the regular season. (Mike Witt pitched a perfecto in 1984 and Bill Stoneman threw a no-no in 1972.)