Very Quickly On CC’s No-No-Hitter

I, Elsewhere

Very Quickly On CC’s No-No-Hitter

By Matt Sussman | Sep 1, 2008 | Filed Under Baseball

If you didn’t hear, CC Sabathia pitched a one-hitter in Pittsburgh Sunday, but the one hit was a very questionable ruling. It looked like an error. So the big questions is: should the play be a hit or an error? Milwaukee’s going to dispute the call.

Enh, y’know, maybe in retrospect, it was probably an error. Andy LaRoche isn’t exactly fast, but Sabathia didn’t help the cause by trying to barehand the ball, a sign that one has to slightly rush the throw. Furthermore, how can one assume, if that was actually an error, Sabathia’s nerves are calm enough to maintain the no-hitter from that point on? You have to factor that into the ruling.

This might set a bad precedent if MLB overturns it. There’s this mentality of “getting it right” with instant replay’s sudden presence in the ballpark, but “getting it right” applies to home runs. Fair or foul. Out or safe. But hit or error? Who cares? A base is a base is a base. It didn’t affect his ERA, or the outcome of the game. The only thing it did was protect Sabathia’s fielding percentage, slightly raise his WHIP, and improve LaRoche’s batting average all the way to a thick .165. Ergo, nothing important. Just move on, Brewers. Worry about winning the Wild Card.