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The impossible has been made possible for a third time in 2015: Cole Hamels threw his first career no-hitter against the hapless Chicago Cubs on Saturday afternoon. The thought of a perfect game left after the first at-bat, when Hamels walked Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler to kick off the first inning, but from then on, no batter lasted more than six pitches against the left-hander. Hamels’ 129-pitch feat was the 13th of its kind in Phillies’ history, and made even more remarkable by breaking a 7,931-game streak by the Chicago Cubs, the longest period without a no-hitter in Major League Baseball.
Usually, a pitcher who crowns his major league career with a no-hitter or a perfect game sticks around long enough to reap the benefits — a plaque, a statue, even a Supreme Court celebration. Hamels’ situation is unique. As John Stolnis of The Good Phight pointed out, Elias Sports Bureau says that there has never been a pitcher who threw a no-hitter and made his next big league start for a different team.
One thing’s for sure: Hamels’ trade value received a nice boost after Saturday’s performance. The no-hitter stanched a particularly bad streak from the 31-year-old, who distributed 14 runs, two walks, and 20 hits over his previous 6 1/3 innings of work. As of Saturday night, Hamels was still drawing interest from several teams (even stranger, from the Chicago Cubs themselves), though no clear frontrunner for the southpaw has emerged just yet. If he finds himself in a new MLB uniform by the end of July, it’ll be his second historical milestone of the week.
- Tell me you didn’t have your heart in your mouth on the last catch of Cole Hamels’ no-hitter.
- The Royals nearly acquired Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto on Saturday night, but the deal was dissolved when an unnamed prospect’s medical records failed to clear.
- After a long and arduous recovery process, Mariners prospect Danny Hultzen will lose yet another season to chronic shoulder issues.
- It’s hard to imagine why Josh Hamilton was booed on his return to Anaheim.
- Do the Orioles need Shane Victorino?
- Here’s the scoop on the newest prospects in the Braves’ farm system.
- Don’t even think about running on Yoenis Cespedes, particularly if your name is David Ortiz.
- Rumor has it that the Yankees are interested in acquiring Cole Hamels, but maybe they would be better off sitting tight at the trade deadline.
