The best pitcher on the planet just turned in one of the most dominant games ever. Nobody is surprised that Clayton Kershaw threw a no-hitter Wednesday night. It was only a matter of time. Kershaw’s masterpiece will not be in the record books as a perfect game because Hanley Ramirez made an error in the seventh inning that allowed a base runner to reach. While not technically a perfect game, Kershaw was perfect. Where does his performance rank all time?
There have been 238 no-hitters in the history of the game. Of all 238 games, Kershaw’s is the only one to include 15 strikeouts and no walks. Nolan Ryan had three no hitters with at least 15 strikeouts but he also walked four, eight, and two in those games.
Game Score is a metric devised by Bill James to determine the strength of a pitcher in any particular baseball game. It weighs innings pitched, strikeouts, hits allowed, walks allowed, and runs allowed. According to Game Score, Kershaw’s gem was the most dominant no-hitter of all time, including perfect games.
The 26-year-old, two-time Cy Young Award winner was also a model of precision Wednesday night. He completed his game needing only 107 pitches. He went to a three-ball count just once and only 11 batters saw two balls during an at bat. The 28 batters that faced Kershaw saw an average of just four pitches per at bat. He was so locked in the final two innings that he did not throw a single ball.
Most no-hitters and perfect games have a signature defensive play that saved the game or a lucky break that goes the pitcher’s way. Clayton Kershaw didn’t need luck Wednesday night. He could have used a better defensive shortstop but his defense was not even tested. This game was all about Kershaw’s untouchable fastball and absolutely devastating curveball.
Kershaw didn’t dominate a bad team either. The Rockies lead all of baseball in hits and average while ranking first in the National League in runs, home runs and RBIs. This makes his performance even more impressive.
While an error kept Kershaw from a technical no-hitter, forget technicalities. What Kershaw did was even better. While it might be hard to prove it was the greatest pitching performance of all time it’s certainly hard to argue against it.
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*Featured Image: Chris Carlson, AP Photo
