Last night Matt Garza of the Tampa Bay Rays became the fifth pitcher this year to throw a no hitter. Now that’s not the highest amount ever. 1991 saw seven men throw up all zeros. However, it does indicate that the momentum is swaying away from big hitters in the box and toward strong arms on the mound. Home runs have been on the steady decline. Whether or not you equate this to the new rules and stringent testing for PED’s, it doesn’t change the fact that this new era of baseball is being defined by the ERA and not the RBI. Headlines have been following the professional exploits of young Stephen Strasberg more than A-Rod’s chase of 600 home runs. Last night cemented this changing of the guard.
There are now only two teams in major league baseball to not have a no hitter in their history books: The San Diego Padres and the New York Mets. Both have had their fair share of one hitters and both currently have very strong starting pitching. It wouldn’t be out of the question to see Johan Santana throw a no hitter. Especially when you consider the pitcher friendly ballpark he throws in. While a search for the elusive no hit bid isn’t on the top of every team’s list, it is already affecting their spending habits. Just two years earlier, Manny Ramirez was the talk of the baseball world. One of the best hitters, and game changing players, was traded from the Red Sox to the Dodgers. This year, the two major trades have centered around the movement of pitchers Dan Haren and Cliff Lee. Both men are seen as being the missing key to the playoff puzzle.
Winning playoff games has never been a mystery. It has always begun and ended with starting pitching. The only difference is that people have started to catch wind of this notion. Alex Rodriguez, the highest paid player in baseball, maybe soon be looking at someone with a bigger wallet than his own. That someone else will more than likely be Cliff Lee. And every pitcher after him will be waiting for their payday.