Jim Palmer.
Anytime there’s reason to invoke the name of Baltimore’s Hall of Fame pitching great in a baseball column, it’s a good day at work.
Wednesday was, however, a bad day at T-ball Park for the Seattle Area Codes — as the game progressed, they were hitting a collective .206 for the season.
The home team, a k a Mariners, settled in at .201, second-worst in MLB, after they were crushed by a no-hitter (and in all but the scorekeeper’s book, a perfect game) from the profoundly unheralded John Means.
In the 6-0 win (box), Means became the first Baltimore Orioles pitcher since the profoundly heralded Palmer in 1969 to throw an individual no-hitter.
With just 43 previous career starts, including six this season, it’s a magnum stretch to draw an analogy from the 28-year-old lefty to Palmer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star from 1965 to 1984, all with the O’s.
John Means is the first Orioles pitcher to throw an individual no-hitter since Jim Palmer in 1969.
That snaps the longest active streak without an individual no-hitter among current franchises.
Baltimore threw a combined no-hitter in 1991. pic.twitter.com/MTNU010iI4
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 5, 2021
But a similar cosmic gulf could be invoked regarding the Mariners offense compared to a major league team.
At .201, they are virtually at the Mendoza Line as a unit.
Longtime baseball fans hereabouts know that among the Mariners’ few contributions to national baseball culture was the naming of the nadir of single-season individual offensive futility.
In 1979, Seattle 3B Mario Mendoza hit .198 for the season in 401 plate appearances, which means he had to be an excellent glove man.
Similarly, the Mariners must have a stout pitching staff to have a 17-15 record with an offense that is Mendoza to the ninth power.
“We’re not swinging the best right now,” said manager Scott Servais, understating by several fathoms. “We got to get it going offensively. We know that we will. I’m confident in our guys, but we’re one of those stretches right now, and then when you run up against the hot pitcher like that . . .
“He just dominated us today.”
Indeed, Means threw first strikes to 26 of the 27 Seattle employees authorized to swing at them. How they were so reluctant/ineffective was remarkable. Means’ fastest pitch was 95 MPH, meaning the hitters were not overwhelmed. They were just baffled.
The only way Means was denied a perfect game was when C Pedro Severino failed in the third inning to catch a swinging third strike by Mariners LF Sam Haggerty, who beat the subsequent throw to first. That little burp, scored a wild pitch, was made more innocuous when Haggerty was erased at second attempting to steal.
“Yeah, right now it doesn’t matter at all, to be honest with you,” Means told ESPN during a post-game TV interview. “I was just happy I made a good pitch. I was struggling with the curve ball recently, so I was just happy I got it over and got a swing and miss on it.
“I was just trying to keep my cool with him on first base. I’m glad Sevy made up for it by getting him out at second.”
No Mariner thereafter came very close to a hit, making for a freakish never-before note: According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was MLB’s first no-hitter that had no walks, hit batters nor errors, but was not a perfect game.
That was the extent of the Mariners’ fig leaf.
“We didn’t hit a ton of balls hard, quite frankly,” Servais said. “There just wasn’t much out there. It was a lot of soft pop-ups and stuff in the air. That’s what Means does. He just got that ride on his fastball, and he gets you off-balance.”
It was the sixth time in club history the Mariners endured no hits, the first time since 2019, when it happened twice, the Astros and Angels each using multiple pitchers to get it done.
Means needed no help, despite the fact that, at 113 pitches, it was the first complete game of his major league career. It included no walks and a career-high 12 strikeouts, improving his record to 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA. He’s struck out 50 in 46 innings.
Despite his relatively brief time in the bigs, Means, a Kansas native chosen by Baltimore in the 11th round of the 2014 draft out of West Virginia University, is growing into a formidable major leaguer.
“We ran up against a really hot pitcher,” Servais said. “Means is probably, numbers-wise, ERA-wise, one of the top pitchers in our league and we saw it today. He absolutely dominated the zone.”
No such plaudits were available for the Mariners’ offense, which wasted a good outing from their starter, Yusei Kikuchi (three runs in seven innings, seven strikeouts, one walk).
The Mariners have four starters hitting under .190 (Evan White .141, Dylan Moore .129, Tom Murphy .140 and Kyle Lewis .184), and as a team have the sixth-most strikeouts in MLB.
It’s understood that this is year three of The Throwaway Times, that the farm system bristles with top-tier prospects, and that Tuesday was the 14th game in 14 days.
So I’m confident the Mariners understand why referencing Jim Palmer and Mario Mendoza in the same column constitutes a good day.
54 Comments
In reality this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, the M’s have flirted a few times this season being no hit. What’s truly surprising is being over 500 with players that can’t hit water if thrown from a boat. If it wasn’t for the bullpen can we imagine how dismal their record would be at this point? Is their blame somewhere for having a team so offensively inept? God knows Stanton & Co. aren’t going to held accountable. How much more rope is Dipoto going to get before the patience run out. I would venture to say it’s endless at this point. The ownership shed payroll and went with the new kids on the block without any assurance or a back up plan if things didn’t materialize.
I know people will say it’s early, it’s always early until it’s too late with this franchise. With all the reliance on youth wouldn’t it have been wise to infuse the team with some “quality” veteran influence this year? Apparently not, perhaps next year.
It isn’t all the kids. Murphy, Seager and Haniger are 30+. In terms of accountability, the record is 17-15, so the bosses get as much credit for that as blame for the poor hitting.
I like your line about always being early until it’s too late. I have to say the bosses offered no forecast of playoff contention this year, only year three of throwaway. But .201, fercripesakes. The world doesn’t have enough lipstick for that pig.
my oh my it just continues. I’m still not convinced that DiPoto knows what he’s doing. he’s a confident fast-talker, but that’s not the same as being competent. all that hooey about control the zone. what a bunch of hot air. sigh.
He’s a deck shuffler.
Same was said early about Theo Epstein.
a deck shuffler! that’s exactly my worry: that Dipoto doesn’t have a solid strategic plan. Sooner or later, we’re going to need some evidence that knows what he is doing.
No sir. Epstein was hired prior to the 2003 season. He won the WS in 2004.
I don’t think controlling the zone is hot air. It’s about approaching every at-bat with a similar plan each time.
However, I realize .201 is .201, and if it’s there in September, I will light your torch from mine as we storm the castle.
Storming the castle, why hasn’t anyone stormed the castle after 43 of bad baseball before now? Save the few years when the Lou & Pat show were in town. I would think twice about storming the Stanton & Co castle, I have it on good authority that while Kevin Mather is no longer a part of the team. He runs the flying monkey squadron, and he’s not afraid of using them.
If we are in Oz, I insist you start clicking your heels.
Wouldn’t work, never been to Kansas and I don’t think I’d look good in ruby red pumps.
deal! pitchforks! torches! let’s do this thing!! in September, that is . . .
“We love you. You’re very special. I’ll be there with you.”
Considering that the M’s farm system under Dipoto has become highly regarded I’d say he does. With their youth however the club is probably still 2-3 years away before becoming a playoff threat. At least they aren’t growing old like the Angels, Astros and Rangers.
Youth doesn’t guarantee success, also the 2-3 years away from becoming a playoff threat was the line Dipoto used 2-3 years ago. The Mariners perpetual future success line is never about let’s try to win now. Go M’s
It’s always about the future with the M’s……Personally, I don’t have much future left.
As Kyle Shanahan said recently, he can’t guarantee anyone will be here Sunday. So we’re all in the same boat.
I think he was referring to Jimmy G, ya think Jimmy G went into witness protection after Shanahan said that?
He was, but he spoke an eternal truth. Poorly, as it turned out. He’s been walking it back since Jimmy G showed up Monday.
The signing of Cano was a win-now move. Cruz too.
They alternate strategies to establish that nothing works.
The signing of Cano in my opinion was a desperate move by Jack Z because the fan base was extremely restless with lack of doing nothing to improve the team forever. They overpaid for Cano by a lot and he wasn’t alone going to get them to the promise land alone.
Not immediate success but a long standing one later on if the right players are brought up and taught properly. The Yankees nucleus in the 90’s of Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, Rivera and Bernie Williams worked extremely well for them. And they’re using that same formula now after having lukewarm results with FA’s and trades.
I agree with your statement, but when the Yankees did that in the early 90’s the Yankees had other veterans in the clubhouse to help with the development of the new players. The Mariners, not so much. It also doesn’t hurt when a team, the Yankees had over 20 WS wins and a record and a real desire to win consistently year in and year out.
I’m all in on the youth movement, I’m just not all in on the Mariner leadership to accomplish what the Yankees have done consistently. They have two entirely different methodologies.
Seeing Means in person, it looked like his control was off the charts, as evidenced by the 26 of 27 first pitch strikes. He was mixing an 83 mph change with curve balls and while his fastball isn’t a gaudy high 90’s he was consistently hitting 94 or 95 with location. It was as masterful a pitching performance as I’ve ever seen. OK, Randy Johnson in his prime was more dominant, but Means made the hitters look silly and rang up 12 K’s.
The Mariners are still the Mariners and while they’re hitting this year is pathetic, MLB hitters collectively are batting only .233, which if it continues would be the lowest avg in history. OBP, OPS and SLG are also at historic low levels while strikeouts are at historic highs.
Batting averages have been falling for 15 years or so. I suspect the culprit is partly sabermetrics leading to better situational pitching decisions and the crazy fielding shifts we see now routinely.
While I’m glad I was at T-ball park yesterday to witness history, if the M’s bats don’t wake up, I won’t be paying $85 a ticket and $25 for a beer and hotdog very many more times this season.
For $85, you deserved to see a little ball history. Glad you credited Means for being a stud. Very impressive.
Every major development/rule change in MLB’s 21st century has favored pitching, especially analytics. The strikeout/HR outcomes have become boring. When it grew this imbalanced in 1968, the mound was lowered. Changes must be made. It’s like the NBA when it became drunk on 3pt shooting.
Or when they changed the key to thwart Mikan’s immense size. (He was 6’10”. The size of a small forward today.)
That’s cold. To have a virtually perfect game thrown at you. But it could be worse. What if your GM pissed off the #1 player in the league (Bay, Green)? Kidding!
The Seattle Mourners now are #30 out of 30 teams in BA. (.201)
They are #29 out of 30 teams in OBP.
They are #29 out of 30 teams in OPS.
They’re not hitting. Not drawing walks. Yet they have a high strikeout rate.
Yes, every team appears to be down in BA. But if the Mariners wind up at .240 it won’t make up for what the warmer weather is going to do to their pitching staff. To say nothing about what injuries may come to starters or key relievers. For young players a confident start is key. But now a fifth of the season is already played.
They’re already down three starters and a reliever to injuries. I doubt weather had/will have much to do with anything. The only young player worthy of concern right now is Evan White. He really does need AAA time. Dipoto wanted so badly to lock up one guy by buying out his arbitration years that he pushed it on White too soon. The guy needs time in the minors to unclench.
‘Weather’ as an arbiter will will have to do with at least one thing. It will guarantee in it’s warmth and the ability to ‘big fly’ a ‘can of corn’ that the Mariners ERA on September 30 will not be at or below 3.80. We’re probably looking at 4.50 to 5.00 and that will lose a number of games in and of itself. I’m going 74-88 unless the hitting sucks all year, in which case they won’t win 70 games.
So you’re already down on pitching when it’s up? You’re strict.
I bet on the history. Not on the come. Not that I really BET at all. I don’t. I’m instinctive and the M’s have taught my instincts.
As you have demonstrated, cynicism is deeply baked into the Mariners fanbase. For good reason. Many good reasons.
White is the new Mike Zunino.
FYI – Willie Mays, the Greatest Ballplayer in History, turned 90 today. Huzzah!
He could probably still hit for a higher average than most of the Mariners
Wait until I tell Junior Griffey what you said.
Babe Ruth is the greatest major league baseball player. Before he was the Sultan of Swat he was one of the top pitchers in the game.
You must have been just a kid when you saw him.
8th grade……
Curiously, Ruth as a pitcher was involved in a game eerily similar to Means. He walked the first hitter but became involved in a dispute with the plate umpire and punched him. Ump threw him out. Ernie Shore came on to pitch. They threw the runner out at second. Ernie got the next 26 batters. They called it a ‘perfect’ game. But it’s recorded as a no-hitter, I believe. Harvey Haddix had the most perfect non-perfect game though.
Without a doubt and I have seen both players in action, MHO.
2 excuses dressed up nattily as explanations I’ve heard: 1) no one is hitting well this year; and 2) they’re winning, so what’s the problem? 1) Right – no one is hitting this year. Still, the M’s are last in hitting, behind even the AAA Detroit Tigers. No one predicted that, nor should it be accepted as okay, even if… 2) 2018. Smoke and mirrors winning record with horrible +/- in run differential. We saw that movie already, we don’t need to see it again. Yes, I know it’s only May, but it’s not as though we have lots of guys who have “done it before” yet. So, if this is still a year for experiments (which is okay by me), let’s bring up the next 3 kids (Kelenic, Raleigh and Gilbert) and DFA or 60-day 3 guys. And spend big on FA hitters in the fall.
You basically agree with the plan, so you are Dipotoized. Frankly, I am too, insofar as staying the course means avoiding the mistakes of Ackley and Zunino, in which players are damaged by rushing kids unprepared for the majors to win a couple games in a season not built to contend. Dipoto said on the radio today that Kelenic probably will be up by the end of May. He is the most ready among all the prospects, and after that, the rest of the kids first need to dominate in AAA.
Yeah, I do believe in the plan. Bringing up the 3 kids at this point (rather than in March 2022), with the thought behind it to get their feet wet when it’s less urgent, is frankly better than what previous regimes did with the two you mentioned and with Brandon Morrow. It shouldn’t scar them when (not if, this is baseball, after all) they fail because they wouldn’t have to learn and win simultaneously. But next season, they’d better spend, win, and grow.
First of the year they were winning games without hitting home runs. They had one of the higher averages with runners in scoring position and were winning games. Then they discovered that if you swing as hard as you can, every once in a while you could hit one out, and now strikeouts abound. I was enjoying the early games.
But don’t you enjoy variety? There are many ways to lose in baseball, and the Mariners are on the frontier of exploration to find them all.
Neither catcher can hit. Evan White is completely lost and needs 350 at bats in Tacoma. Marmelejos, Haggerty and Trammell are 3/4-A players. Dylan Moore is also lost, and he needs to go down as well. The M’s need to acquire a real second baseman– not a utility player (Moore or France), but a true second baseman. Seager and Haniger are everyday pros. Kyle Lewis will eventually hit. Kelenick will play left field. Sheffield, Kikuchi and Dunn are improved and hopefully Marco comes back. DO NOT bring up Gilbert (to replace Paxton) to get shelled. They have found a couple of relievers. 76-86 is doable.
Well, there you have it, folks. A plan in early May to carry the season. If they get to your top end of 86, I will advocate you for the vacant team presidency.
It’s 76 wins and 86 defeats. Team President = Theo Epstein.
My bad on the misread.
Epstein is busy planning to fix all of baseball, not just the M’s.
Seems like the general consensus is that several players need to return to the minors. But isn’t that detrimental to their growth if they’re on a short leash? And what do you replace them with? Having seasoned veterans like Cano, Cruz, Felix et al et al didn’t get the team anywhere. Those teams were doing everything but getting into the postseason. Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, perfect game, no-hitter, no playoffs. At what point do the M’s start looking at the hitting coach? Edgar is looking good right now.
Ah-hah. The traditional first call for the firing of the hitting coach. Like the groundhog seeing his shadow, it’s frivolous, but we insist upon having it.
I’m not necessarily agreeing with it but as you alluded to it a poor offensive showing usually means the hitting coach has to go no matter what. Watch the M’s pick up Chili Davis.