On Saturday, MLB fans witnessed history when Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Gilbert threw a no-hitter.
D-backs prospect Tyler Gilbert throws a no-hitter in his first @MLB start! pic.twitter.com/B0LKtZZghD
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 15, 2021
The fact that he did it in his first MLB start is nothing short of amazing, and puts him in an exclusive club.
He obviously allowed no hits or runs during his nine innings of work, and while he did gave up three free passes, he struck out five batters.
He threw 102 pitches in total, 64 of them for strikes.
He did a lot with limited stuff, as just a handful of fastballs surpassed 90 miles per hour.
Location is, however, just as important as velocity, and breaking pitches helped keep the San Diego Padres off balance, too.
Gilbert’s defense was also busy, making outs on balls that were hit very hard.
It all worked out, though, as everything was lined up for Gilbert to have his magical night.
Witnessing History
It may not have been Gilbert’s first game in Major League Baseball, but it was his first start in the Big Show.
Three other hurlers had no-hitters in their first starts: Bobo Holloman, for the St. Louis Browns in 1953, Bumpus Jones for the Reds in 1892, and Ted Breitenstein, also for the Browns in 1881.
Tyler Gilbert is the 4th pitcher in MLB history to throw a no-hitter in his first career start. He joins…
Ted Breitenstein in 1891
Bumpus Jones in 1892
Bobo Holloman in 1953 pic.twitter.com/Ty88AMYqQc— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 15, 2021
You could say that Gilbert did something that hadn’t been accomplished in 68 years.
That’s some impressive accomplishment.
No matter how Gilbert’s career turns out, he will have something extremely cool to tell his grandchildren.
Additionally, Gilbert’s was the eighth no-hitter this season, tying the most for a single campaign ever in the big leagues.
Joe Musgrove (San Diego Padres), Carlos Rodon (Chicago White Sox), John Means (Baltimore Orioles), Wade Miley (Cincinnati Reds), Spencer Turnbull (Detroit Tigers), Corey Kluber (New York Yankees), four Chicago Cubs pitchers, and now Gilbert have completed nine frames with no hits or runs allowed in the same season, something that is really hard to believe.
Not Your Average Prospect
By reading the news or hearing it, one would think that a pitcher making his first career start and proceeding to throw a no-hitter is some kind of can’t-miss prospect ready to dominate the bigs.
That, however, is not Gilbert’s case.
He is not a typical prospect; in fact, he will turn 28 in December.
Before making his MLB debut in 2021, the pitcher spent six seasons in the minors and was selected in the Triple-A portion of the Rule 5 draft last winter.
He couldn’t believe he was capable of dominating an MLB offense to the point of not allowing a single hit for nine frames.
“Crazy,” he said, according to TSN, before adding that “it’s not going to hit me for probably another day, I don’t know what just happened.”
It’s all more incredible if you consider that Gilbert, one year ago during the pandemic, was reportedly throwing bullpens for his high school varsity baseball coach in his hometown and working on electricity projects with his father to make it to the end of the month.
This weekend’s no-hitter will at least put him on the map and guarantee some more starts for the last-place Diamondbacks as they look for pieces that can help them in the future.
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