New York Mets manager Terry Collins is lucky that Steven Matz lost his no-hitter in the eighth inning on Sunday.
It may seem crazy, but, seriously, Terry Collins is very lucky that Steven Matz lost his no-hitter when he did in Sunday’s game.
Why?
Steven Matz went 7.1 innings before allowing his first hit. Once he gave up a hit, Terry had a quick hook and instantly pulled Matz. Terry was almost out of the dugout faster than Alexei Ramirez was running down to first base.
When Terry yanked Matz, he was already at 105 pitches. Let’s play the, “What if?” game for a moment.
Let’s say Ramirez doesn’t get a hit there and instead makes an out. Now, Matz has five more outs to get at a pitch count of 105. Still, in hypothetical mode, let’s say it takes five more pitches to get Derek Norris out for the final out in the eighth.
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At that point, Matz would be at 110 pitches through eight no-hit innings. Now what?
Terry Collins would have had a tough decision on his plate. Does he let Matz go for it or does he pull him?
An opportunity for a no-hitter doesn’t come often. This may have been Matz’s only shot at a no-no in his career. Does Collins put it to waste? On the flip side Matz is pitching with a bone spur so would it be wise to run him out there for back to back 120+ pitch outings on four and a half days rest?
On the flip side, Matz is pitching with a bone spur so would it be wise to run him out there for back-to-back 120-plus pitch outings on four and a half days of rest?
Thankfully it never got that far.
As a fan in the moment, you want to see history and, as a competitor, Matz definitely would have wanted the ball in the ninth inning. I’m just not sure that would’ve been the wisest choice.
Do you really want to push your injury prone starter in a year where injuries have crippled your team? I wouldn’t have blamed Terry if he did pull him in that situation.
Some say Johan Santana’s career was derailed due to throwing 135 pitches in his no-no. There’s no way to know if that was really the sole cause of Santana’s demise, but I do think Terry had that in the back of his mind on Sunday.
Thankfully I’m not in Terry’s shoes because I don’t know what I would’ve done. That’s why he should consider himself lucky that Matz lost the no-no when he did.
