Sunday, August 15, 2021

I saw my first no-hitter in person!


I didn't take this photo, but my youngest son and I are in the background. We were sitting in the row behind the pool, which is where the Cox signs are in the outfield.

We weren't supposed to go to the game last night. A series of fortunate events led to my son and I going to the game to get the Christian "Sky" Walker bobblehead. 


I knew going into the game that Tyler Gilbert, a rookie, was starting for the Diamondbacks, but I didn't realize until mid way through the game, that it was his first career start. 

I realized in the fourth inning that the Padres didn't have any hits. Then after the 5th I text my oldest son. Whenever he and I go to a game, I always made the comment, "Well there goes the no-hitter, after the other teams first hit", even if it was after the first batter of the game.


In the 7th inning, with the no-hitter in tact we made our way to the D-Backs Authentics shop. I wanted to get a ball that Gilbert had pitched. No such luck. Either they were all gone at that point or they never got any, according to the salesperson. I'm sure they will show up on the auction site sometime soon. Anyways, after a bit of deliberation I decided to grab a ball from the game as a memento. 


I got a ball that David Peralta hit for an RBI single off of Joe Musgrove in the first inning. It was the 2nd of 5 runs the D-Backs scored in the 1st inning. They would go on to win 7-0. It also happened to be Peralta's birthday, so I thought that was kinda cool.

Tyler Gilbert walked Tommy Phan to start the game, but got a double play ball on the next batter and then struck out Manny Machado to end the first. Tommy Phan would walk two other times. All three walks issued by Gilbert were Phan, so it was even more fitting that Phan was the final batter that Gilbert faced in the 9th. This time, Phan flied out to center field. The place was not even half full, but it erupted. Even the Padres fans in attendance were cheering. It was amazing!

Here are my son and I after the game!


Such an amazing experience and I am glad that I got to share it with one of my boys. I plan on getting the Topps Now card for both him and I. How about you? Have you ever seen a no-hitter in person?

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14 comments:

  1. Elliptical ManAugust 15, 2021 at 10:15 AM

    Good stuff.

    I haven't seen a no-hitter in person, though I watched Terry Mulholland's no-hitter on TV and I heard one of Nolan Ryan's on the radio.

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  2. defgavAugust 15, 2021 at 10:27 AM

    That's awesome (but sucks for my Padres, lol)! Great moment for you and your son.

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  3. night owlAugust 15, 2021 at 10:45 AM

    I've seen a high school no-hitter in person. 😛

    Cool that you were there. Living on the east coast, I was happy this game went so fast because I could get into the paper (as the lead story!). Gilbert's a good story even though I had no idea who he was before this game (barely know who the bobblehead guy is). And it was all the better it came against the Padres! Love it!

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  4. GTTAugust 15, 2021 at 1:11 PM

    That's awesome! I've never seen a no-hitter in person. I've never even had a no-hitter in Stratomatic. Sigh.

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  5. JafroniusAugust 15, 2021 at 1:46 PM

    I haven't been so lucky. My in laws were at Mark Bueherle's perfect game though...they were not too far away from there DeWayne Wise made the catch at the wall. And my buddy used to do dice baseball and my team pitched the only perfect game / no hitter in it's history...yeah, that's a stretch.

    Very awesome you and your kid were there for that one. And the Star Wars themed "Sky" Walker is pretty cool too!

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  6. gcrlAugust 15, 2021 at 2:54 PM

    Awesome! You never know what will happen when you head to the ballpark. Going to buy the topps now card for another souvenir?

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    1. gcrlAugust 15, 2021 at 3:07 PM

      I meant to add that I played behind a teammate who threw a no hitter in high school. I had one assist and was scared that another ball would be hit to me in the final inning.

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  7. Daniel WilsonAugust 15, 2021 at 5:13 PM

    Yep, bought two of the Topps Now cards through eBay today. One for me and one for my son.

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    1. gcrlAugust 17, 2021 at 1:26 PM

      sorry i missed that in your writeup. i forgot to mention that i had tickets to eric milton's no-hitter but my friend and i decided not to go after learning the day of that the game time had been moved up due to a golden gopher football game at the metrodome.

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    2. Daniel WilsonAugust 17, 2021 at 7:00 PM

      Oh man! That stinks!

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  8. BoAugust 15, 2021 at 5:22 PM

    That's fantastic! Very lucky. I've seen a couple on TV - All of Jim Abbott's, most of Dwight Gooden's and Corey Kluber's. The two Sunday afternoon Yankee perfect games in the late '90s I was working during, caught the end of Wells on the radio, Cone on TV.

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  9. OhioTimAugust 15, 2021 at 5:26 PM

    What a great experience for you and your son to share and have the memories to talk about in the years to come. The pitcher's dad was also there, and his reaction at the end of the game are priceless. And to answer your question, I have never seen a no hitter in person.

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  10. Zippy ZappyAugust 15, 2021 at 8:48 PM

    Very cool momento and awesome memory you'll have forever. Glad the D-Backs gave you something to celebrate this year.

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  11. MattAugust 16, 2021 at 10:12 AM

    Very cool! A rare chance to witness history! Congrats!

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