List of all 17 Astros no hitters. Hitting enter as quick as I can, so as to not allow another no hitter to sneak onto the list.
He didn't pitch until he was ~18 and signed at age 22 or 23. Changeup was wicked stupid good, even the ones he hung had them befuddled. Going forward I suggest he hangs fewer of them.
I know. It was just a joke. Oz and Luhnow did a pretty decent job with picking up Framber, Javier, Blanco, Abreu, and Garcia for less than 20k each. Only Garcia hasn't been involved in a no hitter.
Diaz called a good game and kept Blanco's confidence up. Kept it simple. Who would have thought that Framber would be the starter that wasn't solid and that Pressly, Hader, and Abreu would take losses
Diaz called a good game and kept Blanco's confidence up. Kept it simple. Because of Dusty and Framber. Maldy would over analyze games and batters sometimes.
Diaz is obviously on his way to being a far better player than Maldonado, as long as he stays healthy and humble. However - Maldonado was the preference of the veteran pitchers. I think they should have forced Diaz into the line up more, to be honest... but I also get that it is hard with Verlander, Valdez, Pressly and others saying they want to throw to Maldonado. FWIW I think that Framber will be fine with Diaz once he is comfortable with him - the one that is far more likely to complain is Justin Verlander, who will not cut Diaz any slack, he will have to know the scouting reports and tendencies or Verlander will insist on VC catching him. Really happy that Diaz is behind the plate though - it wasn't that long ago that he had decided that he did not really like catching and wanted to DH long term. Maturity is a wonderful thing. One thing I will say - Diaz said his bat could hit anywhere, and he was right. He never doubted his bat would end up in the big leagues, even with a slow start in the minors, he always believed it was just a matter of time.
I can get Verlander being tough on Diaz. I think Diaz's strength is keeping it simple for young pitchers. Verlander, I assume wants to play 3D chess when on the mound.
I am fine with Caratini being Verlander’s personal catcher. Even in the playoffs, Diaz can come in once JV is out of the game, so we are talking about 2-3 plate appearances in a playoff game, and it will keep Diaz fresh. Valdez needs to get on the same page as Diaz. And it looks like all the other guys will be fine with Diaz. Ideally, during the season, Caratini will catch JV and work with one other pitcher in the 6 man rotation each time thru. That gives Diaz 2 days off each week (1 to DH and the other to rest) and gets all the pitchers working enough to feel comfortable with both catchers.
Part 1 File limit was exceeded Spoiler Don Nottebart - First in franchise history 5/17/63 Ken Johnson - Took the L (first and only pitcher to lose a 9-inning CG no-hitter Don Wilson - First franchise road no-hitter, first in Astrodome, only Astro with multiple no-hitters 6/18/67 5/1/69 (road) Larry Dierker - Biggio scoffs 7/9/76 Ken Forsch 4/7/79 Nolan Ryan - Career 5th (broke Koufax's MLB record) 9/26/81 Mike Scott - clinched division title 9/25/86 Darryl Kyle (RIP) - final no-hitter in the Astrodome, only baserunner reached on WP (prob Astros closest perfect game) 9/8/93 Oswalt-Munro-Saarloos-Dotel-Lidge-Wagner - tied record for most pitchers in a no-hitter, first interleague by road team, final franchise NL no-hitter, final in original Yankee Stadium 6/11/03
Part 2 Spoiler The Rat - first no-hitter by a rodent, first in MMP, first franchise AL no-hitter, broke longest no-hitter gap in franchise history 8/21/15 Sanchez-Harris-Biagini-Devenski 8/3/19 Justin Verlander - career 3rd no-hitter (3-way tie for most in MLB history), Toro was eventually located 9/1/19 (1st time multiple no-hitters same season franchise history) Javier-Neris-Pressly - first no-hitter in new Yankee Stadium, 2nd no-hitter against NYY since 1958 (both by the Astros) 6/25/22 Javier-Abreu-Montero-Pressly - first postseason no-hitter franchise history, 3rd postseason no-hitter in MLB history, 2nd World Series no-hitter, first postseason combined no-hitter in MLB history, latest no-hitter calendar date in MLB history 11/2/22 Framber Valdez - first no-hitter by a LHP in franchise history (wow), faced minimum batters (first time in franchise history) 8/1/23 Ronel Blanco - largest margin of victory in a no-hitter in franchise history, earliest no-hitter calender date in MLB history 4/1/24 Astros are historical juggernauts in MLB history with their no-hitter prowess. There's many "first's" and "only's" in these lists.
Yea. Then the let him go get the info himself. He is making 30 times what Diaz is making. Maldonado would do whatever he could to stay relevant as a sub-Mendoza hitter and the worst defensive catcher in the league. If you had to pick which player to kick off the team, I would pick middle of the road starter(nowadays) over future superstar Diaz 100 out of 100 times. I am really tired of Prima Donnas. Of course, this could all be bullshit and Verlander is fine with Diaz.
Verlander doesn’t have any personal animosity towards Diaz as far as I know. What I do know is that Verlander expects a lot out of his catcher - he expects them to be very prepared and to meet with him several times a week. If there is ever going to be an issue between the two - it will be over preparation, and Diaz wouldn’t be far from the first catcher to get an earful from Justin. There are 5-6 starting pitchers on the staff and a number of relievers. It is hard to know all there tendencies, especially for someone that is basically a rookie. There is a reason the Astros targeted the back up catcher that they did - he is known for working very well with pitchers. So if there is an issue, VC is available. I disagree with you about Verlander. He studies the numbers a lot - but he wants a prepared catcher that knows the numbers too. A huge part of being a catcher is handling a pitching staff.
Verlander seems very foolish regarding Maldo. His ERA as a Met was lower than with his beloved Binky. It also seems foolish that a HOF veteran was so afraid to pitch to a better defensive catcher whose OPS was nearly double his beloved Binky. He so loved Binky that he left Binky for more money just a few months earlier that year. It also seems backwards that a veteran catcher would serve a veteran pitcher better than he would a young guy. Seems a young guy would need a veteran catcher more. JV probably costed himself a few career wins (he's chasing 300) and another championship, because if he told Toothpick he was okay with Diaz, he probably gets Diaz. Maybe JV was too loyal to Maldy like Dusty was.
