Oddly, the biggest story in the American League on Saturday was going to be another rookie pitcher, as Yankees right-hander Ian Kennedy debuted in the majors with seven strong innings against the Devil Rays (also oddly, almost exactly one year ago, Anibal Sanchez -- Marlins rookie and ex-Red Sox farmhand -- threw the first no-hitter in the majors since 2004).
Kennedy was just an afterthought, though, after
Clay Buchholz, making just his second start (and second appearance) in the major leagues, became the first Red Sox rookie in franchise history to throw an official no-hitter.
If you are not a Red Sox fan, it's quite possible that you never had heard of Clay Buchholz until Saturday night, but he didn't exactly come out of nowhere. Last year, he was Boston's minor league pitcher of the year, and he entered this season, according to Baseball America, as the No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox farm system.
He began the season in Double-A and was promoted in July after utterly dominating Eastern League hitters, striking out 116 in only 87 innings. He wasn't quite as impressive with Triple-A Pawtucket but did strike out 55 in 39 innings.
Buchholz's numbers in the minors were so impressive that there was already a buzz about him, at least among the cognoscenti, before he first pitched in the majors two weeks ago. He pitched well enough to beat the Angels -- six innings, four runs, five strikeouts -- but was returned to Pawtucket immediately afterward. As well has he has pitched all season, the Red Sox apparently did not have big plans for him down the stretch.
But
Tim Wakefield's sore back kept him from starting Friday night.
Julian Tavarez stepped in, which in turn left an opening Saturday for Buccholz, recalled when the Red Sox expanded their major league roster.
The scouting reports on Buchholz suggest he occasionally will muscle up and throw as hard as 96 mph, but against the Orioles, he worked almost exclusively in the low 90s with his fastball, which was plenty good enough. In the preseason Baseball American Prospect Handbook, the authors opined of Buchholz's fastball: "At times it's only his fourth-best offering," after his curveball (rated as "the best in the system"), his hard slider and his changeup.
I watched the last four innings Saturday night -- I turned on the recorder after the fifth -- and it's clear Buchholz doesn't need to throw 96, nor does he need to throw a slider. Early on, he apparently was wowing the Orioles with his changeup, but for the last few innings, he relied almost exclusively on the fastball and his devastating curveball.
What does the future hold for Buchholz, who turned 23 just a few weeks ago? It's tempting to discuss
Wilson Alvarez, who also threw a no-hitter in his second start, when he was 21. It's fun to mention
Bobo Holloman, who threw a no-hitter in his first major league start, when he was 26. Holloman won three games that season and never again pitched in the majors. Alvarez pitched in the majors until he was 35 and won 102 games, but never more than 15 in one season.
What do those examples tell us, really? Nothing. It's also tempting to describe Alvarez's and Holloman's no-hitters, and Buchholz's, too, as flukes. Tempting, and accurate, because all of them
were flukes. Consider this:
Roger Clemens,
Pedro Martinez and Wakefield have combined for 915 starts with the Red Sox ... and none of those starts has resulted in a no-hitter. Yet it took Clay Buchholz only two tries.
But there are flukes, and there are
flukes. Holloman's no-hitter was an absolute
fluke, one of the more improbable events in the game's long history. Buchholz's no-hitter, though? Merely a particularly lucky outing for a healthy, immensely talented pitcher with (apparently) the guts of a cat burglar. It's not likely we'll ever see Buchholz pitch another game quite like this one. But this isn't Bobo Holloman, or even
Bud Smith or
Mike Warren (other rookie no-hit pitchers). Buchholz, if he keeps his wits and his arm about him, is going to hear the roar of the Fenway crowd many, many more times over the next few years.
Rob Neyer
