It finally happened. The New York Mets have a no-hitter under their belts after 51 seasons of baseball. Get those #DontMessWithTheJohan Twitter hash tags ready, because this story will rock the Big Apple.
But does his no-hitter deserve to be marked with an asterisk?
That's the question New York baseball fans will be wondering now that Santana delivered the New York Mets their first no-hitter in franchise history.
St. Louis Cardinals slugger Carlos Beltran hit a line drive that replays show landed on the base line behind third base, but third base umpire Adrian Johnson blew the call.
That shot by Beltran would have negated Santana's no-hitter and added to the Mets' run of over 8,000 games without a no-hitter. It was a legitimate hit by Beltran, only to be taken away by Johnson.
Despite a furious argument by Mike Matheny, Johnson's call stood as a foul ball.
This isn't the way New York Mets fans want to remember their first ever no-no, as it wasn't legitimate.
Much like Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game two years ago when umpire Jim Joyce blew a call at first base, this was an instance where an ump marred a game that shouldn't have gone the way it did.
The St. Louis Cardinals hadn't been no-hit in over 20 years, and the New York Mets went 50 years without notching a no-hitter.
This was a night where history was made, but it's not how Mets fans would have wanted it to go down.
Santana walked five men and struck out eight, while throwing over 130 pitches.
"Amazing," he said after the victory, in an on-field interview with SNY's Kevin Burkhardt.. "This season, I was just hoping to come back and stay healthy." He then got hit in the face with a pie full of shaving cream from adoring teammates.
In my view, all Santana's no-hitter means is that Major League Baseball needs to expand its use of instant replay. As a New York Mets fan, I would have rather kept on waiting, and seen a legitimate no-hitter in a game that wasn't marred by an umpire's poor call.
Does Johan Santana's no-hitter deserve to be marked with an asterisk? Let me know in the comments.
Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Mets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.
Sources
www.mlb.com, MLB, player and team stats
