Clay Buchholz is something special. Now that he threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox tonight at Fenway, New Hampshire Fisher Cats Manager Bill Masse would see that.
In just his second major league start, rookie phenom Clay Buchholz threw a no-hitter, a few hours after being called up by the Red Sox to help the team out because of an ailing Tim Wakefield. Buchholz is
the 17th rookie to throw a no-hitter and became the third since 1900 to
throw a no-hitter in his first or second major league start.
At the end of June when Buchholz was pitching for the Portland Seadogs, the Double A affiliate for the Red Sox, the local fans cheered him on and gave him a standing ovation. The reaction from Manager Bill Masse was legendary, and not to be forgotten for a long time. His reaction was angry and childish, which led to dozens of letters being written to the Union Leader, the major newspaper in New Hampshire, to try and get Masse to see the light. Below is an excerpt from that article, snagged from another blog that grabbed it before the newspaper started charging $2.50 to read articles over 30 days old:
Clay Buchholz, the No. 3 prospect in the Red Sox organization, threw a four-hitter over 6.1 innings, leading Portland to a 5-4 Eastern League win over New Hampshire before a solid Monday night gathering of 6,831.
To Buchholz’ surprise, he left yesterday’s game to a standing ovation, after surrendering his fourth hit, a clean single to left by Chip Cannon on his 91st delivery to the plate with one out in the seventh inning.
“I didn’t expect it, but it was nice,” he said.
In the Fisher Cats’ clubhouse after the game, Masse questioned the local fans’ loyalty to the hometown team.
“I think it’s sad,” Masse said. “We’re not playing the Boston Red Sox. We’re playing the Portland Sea Dogs. Unless you’re from that area, you root for your hometown team. This is New Hampshire’s team, Manchester’s team and to see Clay Buchholz get a standing ovation was absolutely disgraceful.”
When told that many of the fans in attendance attend Red Sox games or follow the Red Sox, Masse said, “We’re not playing the Boston Red Sox. It’s Manchester against Portland. There’s not a park in the world that would have given him (Buchholz) a standing ovation for throwing six innings for one run and 11 strikeouts. I guess I will never understand how you can root for the Fisher Cats when we don’t play Portland and root for them when we do play them.”
Buchholz is special for sure, missing a perfect game by 3 walks and doing it in 116 pitches, he gave the Sox something to revel in and look forward to now: young pitching talent in September.
Buchholz was the shining star from the September callups, but he wasn't the only one. Outfielders Brandon Moss and Jacoby Ellsbury both did their part in helping the Sox beat down the Orioles 10-0. With the always spot on defense by Coco Crisp and an amazingly impossible play by Dustin Pedroia, you knew Buchholz was in good hands.
My hat goes off to the Baltimore Orioles as well. They could have pulled some bush league move like try to bunt to break up the no hitter at the end of it, even when Buchholz's changeup was downright nasty, but they didn't. They did their best to make contact, and you had no doubt they wouldn't pull a move like that. And that isn't something I could say for the Yankees.
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