Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Today's edition is brought to you by David Adler.
Even Vin Scully thought it couldn't be done.
A no-hitter at Coors Field? Mile-high Coors Field? The most hitter-friendly ballpark in Major League history?
It was said, in Scully's words, to be "impossible."
But on this day 30 years ago, Hideo Nomo did the impossible.
On Sept. 17, 1996, the Japanese right-hander with the iconic "Tornado" windup threw the first, and the only, no-hitter in Coors Field history.
Today, Manny Randhawa takes a look back at the game on its 30-year anniversary.
Nomo's no-no for the Dodgers against the Rockies might well be the most improbable one ever thrown. There have been more than 2,500 games played at Coors Field since it opened in 1995. Nomo still stands alone.
Nomo was facing one of the most dangerous lineups at home in baseball history -- and in the days before Coors Field had a humidor. The '96 Rockies were a powerhouse led by the "Blake Street Bombers" -- Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga, Ellis Burks and Larry Walker (who was out hurt for Nomo's no-hitter).
And he couldn't even use his signature windup. It was a cold, wet day at Coors Field -- there was even a two-hour rain delay to start the game -- and in the uncomfortable conditions, Nomo scrapped his corkscrew windup during the game and started pitching only from the stretch.
But even without the delivery that caused such deception, Nomo's fastball and forkball dominated the Rockies. He struck out eight in the game -- including Burks to end it, on maybe the best forkball of his life.
With Scully on the call in the U.S. -- and Masanori Murakami, the first Japanese pitcher in MLB history, announcing the game for Japanese station NHK -- Nomo made history.
"Hideo Nomo has done what they said could not be done -- not in the Mile High City, not in Coors Field in Denver!" Scully exclaimed. "He has not only shut out the Rockies, but he has pitched a no-hitter. And thank goodness they saw it in Japan."
Read more about the Nomo no-no here >>
