December 31, 2011
Most Giants fans, well, not most, but those who understand stats like WHIP, WAR, ZIBBAZABBA, etc., have a pretty low opinion of Jonathan Sanchez. Me, I don’t care. I’m still a little kid. I spent a summer living in Los Angeles in 2009 and couldn’t watch any Giants games. It was pretty much killing me. I had the radio subscription on the MLB website, but was only able to listen to a couple of games. The first week of July that year, I got an email saying I would get a free preview of the online TV subscription. The first game I watched was on July 10, 2009. I was waiting for the girl I was living with to get ready for a birthday dinner for somebody and watching the Giants play the San Diego Padres with Sanchez on the mound. He was mowing hitters down. Unbelievable. He’d always had good stuff, but tended to be wild. Not that night. I was sitting on the couch in Silver Lake, a stone’s throw from Dodger Stadium watching Sanchez absolutely dominate. 
I was going crazy. I wouldn’t explain what was happening to my then girlfriend for fear of jinxing it, but I could hardly contain myself. I was rocking back and forth on the couch. It got to the eighth and he still had a perfect game. Uribe made an error on a tough play and a runner reached base, but the no hitter was still intact. Aaron Rowand made an amazing catch against the wall to save the no hitter in the ninth. Sanchez then struck out Everth Cabrera to end it. The first Giants no hitter since 1976, and the first no hitter I had ever watched start to finish. So amazing. 
The best part of it was that Sanchez’s dad was in the stands watching it. He had never seen his son pitch in person in a major league game until that night. After the game, he couldn’t sleep and stayed up until the newspapers came out and bought every one he could. I know it’s corny, but I’m pretty sure that made me shed a tear. 
Sanchez was traded to the Royals this off-season for Melky Cabrera. Some won’t miss him, but I will. This shot I took in April 2008, when Sanchez started against the Diamondbacks. God damn, I love baseball.

Most Giants fans, well, not most, but those who understand stats like WHIP, WAR, ZIBBAZABBA, etc., have a pretty low opinion of Jonathan Sanchez. Me, I don’t care. I’m still a little kid. I spent a summer living in Los Angeles in 2009 and couldn’t watch any Giants games. It was pretty much killing me. I had the radio subscription on the MLB website, but was only able to listen to a couple of games. The first week of July that year, I got an email saying I would get a free preview of the online TV subscription. The first game I watched was on July 10, 2009. I was waiting for the girl I was living with to get ready for a birthday dinner for somebody and watching the Giants play the San Diego Padres with Sanchez on the mound. He was mowing hitters down. Unbelievable. He’d always had good stuff, but tended to be wild. Not that night. I was sitting on the couch in Silver Lake, a stone’s throw from Dodger Stadium watching Sanchez absolutely dominate. 

I was going crazy. I wouldn’t explain what was happening to my then girlfriend for fear of jinxing it, but I could hardly contain myself. I was rocking back and forth on the couch. It got to the eighth and he still had a perfect game. Uribe made an error on a tough play and a runner reached base, but the no hitter was still intact. Aaron Rowand made an amazing catch against the wall to save the no hitter in the ninth. Sanchez then struck out Everth Cabrera to end it. The first Giants no hitter since 1976, and the first no hitter I had ever watched start to finish. So amazing. 

The best part of it was that Sanchez’s dad was in the stands watching it. He had never seen his son pitch in person in a major league game until that night. After the game, he couldn’t sleep and stayed up until the newspapers came out and bought every one he could. I know it’s corny, but I’m pretty sure that made me shed a tear. 

Sanchez was traded to the Royals this off-season for Melky Cabrera. Some won’t miss him, but I will. This shot I took in April 2008, when Sanchez started against the Diamondbacks. God damn, I love baseball.

  1. ecnook reblogged this from mightyflynn
  2. myheartbelongstothesfgiants reblogged this from thetenssf
  3. geecandy54 reblogged this from thetenssf
  4. onelifetothefullest reblogged this from findtheswagger
  5. thebostinian reblogged this from mightyflynn and added:
    Ladies and gentlemen, the magic of sports.
  6. marcatlepe reblogged this from findtheswagger
  7. baballking reblogged this from mightyflynn
  8. lalunasplende reblogged this from findtheswagger and added:
    Sanchez was/is inconsistent - when he was bad, it was tough to stomach, but when he was good? He throws no-hitters and...
  9. eatupsadness reblogged this from findtheswagger and added:
    omg that triple. those eyebrows. THIS GUY.
  10. snails reblogged this from findtheswagger and added:
    I’ll always remember that triple. I was watching the game in the family room and started whooping it up. I yelled to my...
  11. anygoddamnedcolleen reblogged this from findtheswagger and added:
    I missed that game, like I missed most games between then and the 2001 season, the pains of growing up and the...
  12. findtheswagger reblogged this from thetenssf and added:
    love baseball. And...record, I’m one of...will miss Sanchez,...
  13. hellocwong said: He shouldn’t have been traded, especially after his worst season for someone who just had their best season.
  14. cainers reblogged this from tealrallythong and added:
    I just need this on my blog.
  15. tealrallythong reblogged this from mightyflynn
  16. charliemanderrrr reblogged this from sharonn
  17. sharonn reblogged this from mightyflynn
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