The Los Angeles Dodgers may have found a gem in rookie pitcher Ross Stripling.
Stripling went 7 1/3 innings without allowing a hit against the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. He became the first pitcher since 1967 to take a no-hit bid that far in a debut, with Billy Rohr doing it for the Boston Red Sox on April 14, 1967. With multiple family members and friends at the game, Stripling put on an incredible show. One that many will never forget, for both good and bad reasons.
At this point of the game, the Dodgers had a 2-0 lead over the Giants at AT&T Park. After walking Angel Pagan with one out in the bottom of the 8th, Stripling was taken out of the game with his no-hitter still intact. Manager Dave Roberts called upon reliever Chris Hatcher to finish the inning and hopefully put themselves in position to close the game out. One could see the disappointment in the young man’s eyes but it was obvious to see that he understood. Frankly, he was probably taking it much better than the fans were.
After an amazing showing from the rookie pitcher, a new big leaguer from the opposing team put out a highlight of his own. Trevor Brown, who took over for Buster Posey, launched a home run that would also score Angel Pagan. The game was now tied at two, setting the baseball world ablaze.
The lead was gone. The no-hitter Stripling had put together had now dissipated.
Roberts was then tossed in the top of 9th for arguing a call, giving him one heck of a night to write home about.
Brandon Crawford nailed the coffin shut as he belted one over the fence to give the Giants a walk-off victory in the 10th inning.
The Giants finished with a grand total of two hits. Obviously, both of those hits being very costly for the Dodgers.
After a disappointing loss and a case of “what could have been”, one must ask this:
Was pulling Stripling the correct choice?
Much of it becomes a matter of perspective but it does not conclude that each perspective is correct.
The 26 year old from Texas A&M was five outs away from being the first player to throw a no-hitter in their debut since Bumpus Jones of the Cincinnati Reds did it in October of 1892. Because Roberts decided to pull him at that point, Stripling was not allowed to engrave his name into the record books and also missed out on adding a “1” to the victory column.
In all reality, that’s a relatively shallow way to look at it. This is merely a theory when you look at the big picture. When you don’t, you end up just like this fellow Dodgers fan who is already jumping ship.
A little early to throw your manager under the bus, isn’t it? Five games into the season and the hashtags are already coming.
There’s no guarantee that Stripling would throw another great inning and a half. With the shakiness he displayed the inning prior and the rain pouring at AT&T Park, pulling him could already be somewhat justifiable. Yet, this unique situation is much, much deeper than that.
Stripling is two years removed from Tommy John surgery. He lost the entire 2014 season due to recovery and later came back in 2015, putting in 14 minor league starts. His highest pitch count in those starts? 93.
The final pitch he threw before Roberts pulled him out, which came against Angel Pagan, was his 100th of the game.
In all of Spring Training, Stripling threw 145 pitches. In his first outing of the 2016 season, Stripling was OVER two thirds of the way towards his whole pitch count of pre-season.
After going such a long time without going the distance, is it reasonable to assume he would have finished it off? Not at all.
“It was the right call,” Stripling said. “It was a tough decision for him and I certainly had no ill feelings toward the decision one bit.”
Straight from the horse’s mouth.
Manager Bruce Bochy, whose team got the better end of the stick, sided with the decision and stated his reasoning in the post-game press conference.
“It’s the kid’s first start and they have to take care of him,” Bochy said. “Sure, you’d like to give a kid a chance to get a no-hitter but his first start, I’m sure his pitch count hadn’t been up there. You have to look after his health, and that’s what they were doing.”
Roberts’ choice is the only correct one when thinking about the game and the long term health of Stripling.
Let’s add it all together, shall we?
Stripling is two years removed from Tommy John surgery, has thrown no more than 93 pitches in an outing since then, throws for 100 pitches in weather that would surely tighten up the muscles, but we’re going to blame Dave Roberts for not trying to chase history at the expense of an arm? At the expense of a career that is just getting restarted?
This, friends, is why Roberts is managing and we’re sitting at home.
“He’s coming off Tommy John, he threw 70 innings last year,” Roberts said. “It’s a great story. He pitched well, but under no circumstance am I going to even consider putting his future in jeopardy.”
Ultimately, the statements made against Roberts’ decision are purely emotional. Yes, it would have been nice to see Stripling succeed and go all the way, but that would be us putting his health as an afterthought. Our selfish desires do not come ahead of a team and the development of young talent, regardless of the outcome of Friday night’s score. If one decides to be rational, it is clean to see why the decision was made and why it was a no-brainer.
If things work out, Stripling will be out again and pitching like a mad man, putting together games that will help propel the back end of the Dodgers starting rotation.
Like Clayton Kershaw, Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda, Stripling will head into his second start of 2016 without a loss. There is a lot to look forward to thanks to Roberts’ consideration and willingness to take out a player despite them being on the brink of history.