One-hit wonder

Sporting News, The, July 12, 2004 by Bob Hille

Twice in his career, righthander Mike Mussina has taken a perfect game into the ninth inning. Each time he has finished with a 1-hitter. Once, pitching for the Yankees in 2001, he got to two outs in the ninth and two strikes on the third hitter, Boston's Carl Everett, who looped a single into left field at Fenway.

So near to perfection and yet ... settling for a 1-hitter. How's that feel? Turn to page 12 to find out in Mussina's words.

Meantime, understand that even near-misses are full of footnotes beyond the pitching, as in the case of Mussina's near-perfect game on May 30, 1997, at Camden Yards in Baltimore. That time, Indians catcher Sandy Alomar broke up the perfecto with one out in the ninth inning.

But, wait, there's more inside the box score.

a-struck out for Vizquel in the 9th. 1-ran for Incaviglia in the 5th. E--TFernandez (4), Vizquel (6). LOB--Cleveland 1, Baltimore 12.2B--ByAnderson (11). RBI--ByAnderson (32), RPalmeiro (37), CRipken (38). SB--ByAnderson (8). CS-RAIomar (1). Runners left in scoring position--Baltimore 6 (CRipken, Tarasco 4, Bordick). Runners moved up--RAIomar, RPalmeiro, CRipken, Holies, Bordick. DP--Cleveland 1 (SAIomar and Vizquel).

IBB--off Nagy (RPalmeiro) 1, off Nagy (Surhoff) 1. HBP--by Nagy (Incaviglia). Umpires--Home, Craft; First, Meriwether; Second, Evans; Third, McCoy. T--2:28. A--47,759 (48,262).

Orioles 3, Indians 0--May 30,1997

Cleveland           AB    R    H    BI    BB    SO    Avg.

Grissom cf           4    0    0    0     0     2     .218
JuFranco dh          3    0    0    0     0     1     .335
Thome 1b             3    0    0    0     0     1     .300
MaWilliams 3b        3    0    0    0     0     1     .257
Justice lf           3    0    0    0     0     0     .384
Ramirez rf           3    0    0    0     0     0     .327
TFernandez 2b        3    0    0    0     0     1     .281
SAlomar c            3    0    1    0     0     2     .340
Vizquel ss           2    0    0    0     0     1     .249
a-Giles ph           1    0    0    0     0     1     .241

Totals              28    0    1    0     0     10

Baltimore           AB     R    H    BI    BB    SO    Avg.

ByAnderson cf       5      1    2    1     0     1     .337
RAlomar 2b          5      1    3    0     0     0     .272
RPalmeiro 1b        4      0    1    1     1     1     .279
CRipken 3b          3      0    0    1     1     0     .279
Surhoff lf          2      0    1    0     2     0     .344
Incaviglia dh       2      0    0    0     0     2     .281
1-Hammonds pr-dh    1      0    0    0     0     0     .245
Tarasco rf          4      0    0    0     0     2     .206
Hoiles c            4      1    1    0     0     0     .289
Bordick ss          4      0    1    0     0     0     .208

Totals             34      3    9    3     4     6

                               R    H    E

Cleveland    000    000    000-0    1    2
Baltimore    101    001    00x-3    9    0

Cleveland       IP    H    R    ER    BB    SO    NP     ERA

Nagy L, 6-3     7     8    3    1     4     5     121    3.61
Assenmancher    1     1    0    0     0     1       8    8.18

Baltimore         IP    H    R    ER    BB    SO    NP     ERA
Mussina W, 7-1    9     1    0    0     0     10    115    3.73

This was Matt Williams' only American League season in a 17-year major league career. He hit 32 homers and led the Indians with 105 RBIs.

Having previously been used exclusively at third base and DH, this was Jim Thorne's first season at first base. He responded with a career-best 40 home runs and a league-leading 120 walks.

The '97 season is the only one in Manny Ramirez's 11-year career in which he has finished with fewer than 100 RBIs (88) and more than 400 at-bats.

Brady Anderson, who had 50 home runs the year before, hit 18 in '97 and 18 in '98.

Rafael Palmeiro, a career .290 hitter, batted .254 in 1997, his worst in a full season as a major leaguer.

Two seasons after breaking Lou Gehrig's iron man record, Cal Ripken Jr. was playing in his 2,365th consecutive game on the 15th anniversary of the start of The Streak.

Mike Mussina's only loss had come in his first start, and he didn't take another L until June 20. He struck out 10 Indians, including, ironically, Alomar twice, part of his Orioles season-record 218 strikeouts.

Cleveland traded CF Kenny Lofton and LHP Alan Embree to Atlanta in March 1997 for David Justice, who hit a career-best .329, and Marquis Grissom, who was the ALCS MMP.

Sandy Alomar's liner to left on a 1-1 pitch came in the fifth game of what became a 30-game hitting streak, one of two 30-game streaks that summer. Red Sox SS Nomar Garciaparra had the other.

Suspended at the start of the '97 season for spitting on umpire John Hirschbeck at the end of the '96 season, Roberto Alomar started slowly but finished at .333.

Neither Mussina nor Charles Nagy got a decision when they met again in Game 6 of the ALCS, an 11-inning classic that Cleveland won. Nagy, however, took the loss in Game 7 of the World Series against the Marlins.