Arguably a bigger feat than the no hitter...

[Frobby]

..,was that John Means threw a first-pitch strike to 26 of 27 batters.  Honestly, has that ever happened before in the history of baseball?   

[HowAboutThat]

I want to know why it was a wild pitch instead of a passed ball. I watch that play several times and there’s no way it should’ve gotten away from Severino.

 

[Just Regular]

I just got through MLB Network's coverage, and they had a Brad Radke 27-for-28 graphic.   

The first pitch strikes were a fantastic part of the whole performance!

[Oriole1940]

The first pitch strikes were an important reason he threw the no hitter,  therefore a huge part of it.  Batters always down in the count  were then at Means mercy for the following pitches. It was a real pitching clinic.    

[LocoChris]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

I want to know why it was a wild pitch instead of a passed ball. I watch that play several times and there’s no way it should’ve gotten away from Severino.

 

It hit the ground. If it hits the ground before reaching the catcher it’s a WP 99.99% of the time. Fair or unfair that’s the way it is. 

[HowAboutThat]

32 minutes ago, LocoChris said:

It hit the ground. If it hits the ground before reaching the catcher it’s a WP 99.99% of the time. Fair or unfair that’s the way it is. 

Understood, but it was right in front of him and didn’t take any awkward hop.

 

[HowAboutThat]

More from Lookout Landing:

 

After that game

I vote we change his name to Johns Mean.

Posted  by Henry H  on May 5, 2021 | 5:06 PM

 

Means faced the minimum number of batters.

Which is ironic because, in the same game, the Mariners faced the minimum number of pitchers.

Posted  by Gandalf the Blue  on May 5, 2021 | 6:26 PM

 

Near as I can tell

His bWAR was tied for the MLB lead with Duffy, Cole, Gibson, and Bieber entering today, at 1.7. He’s not having an average season so far.

Posted  by DerScoob  on May 5, 2021 | 4:13 PM

Maybe

He’ll regress to himself next time we face him 

Posted  by truemarinersoutcome  on May 5, 2021 | 4:29 PM

He's definitely worse

Than John Medians though

Posted  by truemarinersoutcome  on May 5, 2021 | 4:30 PM

 

 

 

I wish Means was a Mariner.

Mostly because he is good. But also because we would have so much fun with his name.

Posted  by Mfancubfan  on May 5, 2021 | 5:29 PM

Does the team have the means to acquire him?

 

Posted  by Suburban Shocker  on May 5, 2021 | 5:47 PM

Yes

 

Posted  by Corco  on May 5, 2021 | 6:21 PM

The Erik Bedard trade 2.0!

I wonder if a package of Kelenic, Kirby, Misiewicz, Luis Munoz, and Juan Then would do it

Posted  by Corco  on May 5, 2021 | 6:24 PM

Means has a couple more years of club control than Bedard did, so maybe throw in Hancock and Marte just to make sure it's fair.

 

Posted  by GrassRockFish  on May 5, 2021 | 6:27 PM

[Hallas]

44 minutes ago, LocoChris said:

It hit the ground. If it hits the ground before reaching the catcher it’s a WP 99.99% of the time. Fair or unfair that’s the way it is. 

Pretty sure it hit the ground underneath him.  But i agree with your point that a ball that bounces in the same zip code of the catcher is probably going to be called a WP.

[PeteCanes]

Easily one of the best performances I’ve seen.  means had those dudes fooled all day.  Hopefully he can catch up to Johnny Vandermeer next outing

[PeteCanes]

Easily one of the best performances I’ve seen.  means had those dudes fooled all day.  Hopefully he can catch up to Johnny Vandermeer next outing

[LocoChris]

6 hours ago, Philip said:

Understood, but it was right in front of him and didn’t take any awkward hop.

 

I know, and I agree it should have been blocked. It’s just one of those things that’s always scored a certain way. It’s like a muffed fly ball where the fielder doesn’t get a glove on it. Usually ruled a hit even though that’s completely unfair to the pitcher. Touched the glove though? Error. 

[owknows]

29 minutes ago, LocoChris said:

I know, and I agree it should have been blocked. It’s just one of those things that’s always scored a certain way. It’s like a muffed fly ball where the fielder doesn’t get a glove on it. Usually ruled a hit even though that’s completely unfair to the pitcher. Touched the glove though? Error. 

I would venture a guess that it would have been scored differently if it had happened in the 8th inning of a no-hitter instead of the third.

[Moose Milligan]

@Frobby

 

Quote

He struck out 12 and induced 26 swings and misses. He threw first-pitch strikes to a remarkable 26 of the 27 batters he faced -- the highest percentage of first-pitch strikes in a complete game in the pitch-tracking era (since 1988).

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31395714/baltimore-orioles-john-means-pitches-no-hitter-vs-seattle-mariners-misses-perfect-game-wild-pitch

 

Also:

 

Quote

Means' first-pitch strike rate was the highest for any complete game of the pitch-count era (since 1988), which sounds like a mark Maddux might have held. (It actually was James Shields, who threw 92.9% first-pitch strikes in a 2011 game. Good luck beating Means' 96.3%).

 

[LocoChris]

28 minutes ago, owknows said:

I would venture a guess that it would have been scored differently if it had happened in the 8th inning of a no-hitter instead of the third.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter how it’s scored in terms of the no hitter. It would be a no hitter and not a perfect game either way. But yeah pitcher probably gets the benefit of the doubt if it’s later in the game. 

[Frobby]

9 hours ago, Hallas said:

Pretty sure it hit the ground underneath him.  But i agree with your point that a ball that bounces in the same zip code of the catcher is probably going to be called a WP.

Whenever I’m evaluating a catcher’s pitch blocking skills, I always look at how many wild pitches occur on their watch.   Some WP’s are beyond the catcher’s control, but I’d say the majority can be blocked. 

Wieters in his defensive prime was unbelievably good at preventing WP.   In 2011 for example, the O’s allowed the 4th most walks in the league, but were dead last in wild pitches allowed, by a wide margin.

I am not a habitual Severino-basher, but that is a very weak part of his game.