Ervin Santana No-Hitter •Angels 2011 Top Eleven #2

by Rev Halofan on Dec 30, 2011 6:00 AM PST in Team Lore

Starting pitcher Ervin Santana #54 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim waves to the fans after throwing a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on July 27, 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Angels defeated the Indians 3-1.

The lore of the No-Hitter equally confounds the pragmatic (who want accolades reserved for the purest of statistical achievements) and the romantic (with heroes so random as to defy the meta-narrative impulse at the core of every poet in search of a worth subject).

More common than Halley's Comet but less common than a Full Moon, the No-Hitter brings out a lore all its own. The strange fascination with this outlier statistical achievement stems from the fact that it has eluded many of the greats but been accomplished by plenty of men for who it is the only moment of note on their baseball career.

On July 27 in a day game at Cleveland, Angels veteran righty Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter. It was the 9th no-hitter in club history. He was the sixth Angels pitcher to be involved in a no-no. There is an extensive history of Angels no-hitters at the Wikipedia page devoted to this specific subject.

Beyond the lore, this moment of glory was a high point for Angels fans in a season where treading water served as an approximation of contending. For Ervin himself it added great luster to an Angels legacy that is slowly amassing the counting stats through a longevity that belies an insufferably maddening inconsistency - great games followed by blowouts, masterpieces on top of apathetic bed-crappings, and now a no-hitter to go with that All-Star 2008 season (ERA+ of 127), which come close to erasing or at least balancing out the 2007 and 2009 seasons of an ERA+ of 79 and 87 respectively. That Bobby Wilson was the catcher in this contest was a satisfying asterisk to the management that had brayed about the defensive prowess of Jeff Mathis as his offensive black hole slowly sucked out the 2011 season from under the team.

But most of all, it was Ervin's moment in the sun, his first career victory against the Cleveland Indians and the first no-hitter in the corporate named park the Tribe plays in, the same stadium in which Ervin made his major league debut in 2005, surrendering the cycle in his first major league inning pitched. If we had won it all this year by some strange confluence of mathematical destruction, this feat would still be near the top of 2011. As it stands, it was the second greatest moment of the 2011 season.

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Comments

F@ck it, let's pitch.

Watch it here

A wise man does not need advice and a fool won't take it.

by angelslogic on Dec 30, 2011 6:04 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

I am truly excited to see Santana this year.

I think he’s maturing and have a feeling he’s overcoming his consistency issues. This guy is positively electrifying when he is on. Having the staff around him that he now has should help him, I think.

by firebird81 on Dec 30, 2011 8:34 AM PST reply actions

Just saw this game

again last night!

ITunes Store has it under MLB Games of the Year 2011.

"Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Peter Bourjos" ~ markinca

by blast21dave on Dec 30, 2011 8:38 AM PST reply actions

Black Magic has been one of my favorite pitchers since I read of his signing in the D.R., and I was able to follow his career through whatever media reports that were available.

His superior talent, yet tortured failings while trying to succeed, have grabbed hold of me, and won’t let go. He appears to be a really good teammate who never gets into trouble, and a fierce competitor. I find myself looking forward to the days he pitches.

Santana could very well exhibit his talent the most by being surrounded by the likes of Weaver, Haren, Wilson,……and Williams.

by wumbug on Dec 30, 2011 8:44 AM PST reply actions 3 recs

100% agree

His talent is among the best there is. His inconsistency makes it heartbreaking at times, but the guy has the stuff and seems to be a good teammate and representative of the team in general.

by firebird81 on Dec 30, 2011 8:57 AM PST up reply actions

Santana is a favorite in my house

Ever since I listened to his first career start on the radio, I’ve loved the way he battles. My girlfriend doesn’t follow the Angels that closely, but always roots for Ervin and is more enthusiastic about going to games with me when he pitches.

by JeffJoiner on Dec 30, 2011 11:07 AM PST up reply actions

ever since the game against NYY in the 2005 ALDS

when he came in for an injured Colon and proceeded to dominate the Yanks in the series clincher, he’s been a favorite of mine

"You realize that Ive been posting on AN since 07 on this name and I am one of the most rec'ed posters there right?" - Some tool named Designatedforassignment from Athletics Nation

by 2pintsofbooze on Dec 30, 2011 12:06 PM PST up reply actions

I'm with you. Voodoo has always intrigued me

He’s shown such dominance, only to follow it with complete meltdowns. But for some reason I think he’s reached the other side. I don’t know whether it’s maturity, experience, or whatever, but my hunch is that next year he’s going to have his best season and will arguably be the Angels’ best pitcher.

by yeswecan on Dec 30, 2011 12:35 PM PST up reply actions

He has such an awesome sense of humor.

For example, a victory in Toronto in ’10 which would have been a no-hitter except for THREE bluebird home runs. CG – 3 H 3 R 3 ER. Silly.

by Halowitz on Dec 30, 2011 1:18 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

agree....it seemed like last year he was a lot more consistent than the previous year

2012 is going to be exciting

The saddest day of the year is the day baseball season ends.

by ladybug on Dec 30, 2011 1:35 PM PST up reply actions

His stuff, when on, is the best of the staff, IMO.

The breakthrough moment for me was during an interview where Magic talked about his love for remote-control airplanes and flying them in the Big A.

The fact that he could be so intense, competitive, and downright dominant in one aspect of his life, then a total kid in another way was really interesting to me.

Winning doesn't matter. -Lyle

by 5thStarter on Dec 30, 2011 1:46 PM PST up reply actions

And he's our #4?!?

What are the odds of our Big 4 each having sub-3.50 ERAs and 200-plus innings? In a word — DEVASTATING!

by PieceOfAase on Dec 30, 2011 8:45 AM PST reply actions

My fantasy opponent at the time had him on the bench for this game

What a glorious day that was. I’m still going to give him crap about it next season.

Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.

by Commander_Nate on Dec 30, 2011 8:58 AM PST reply actions

on the bench against cleveland???

maybe you should go easy on him

by angelsfan1299 on Dec 30, 2011 9:02 AM PST up reply actions

banned from LSB

i shouldn’t have insulted george’s friends like that…

laugh about how that contract is gunna cripple the angels, then watch the Billionaire Bush Buddies pay $110 million for some squinty-eyed, unproven, iranian, rice-eater, in hopes that he’ll replace CJ’s 5.9 WAR

by angelsfan1299 on Dec 30, 2011 9:25 AM PST reply actions

think ice here too

dude – the eye and rice references are not welcome here.

by Rev Halofan on Dec 30, 2011 10:03 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs

where's thebigtizzle when you need him?

"You realize that Ive been posting on AN since 07 on this name and I am one of the most rec'ed posters there right?" - Some tool named Designatedforassignment from Athletics Nation

by 2pintsofbooze on Dec 30, 2011 10:13 AM PST up reply actions

Dick

Eat one on your way out..

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." ~Dave Barry

by LAASurfin on Dec 30, 2011 10:17 AM PST up reply actions

Racist

For once, Ozzie Guillen is right.

Scioscialist Party of America - Redistributing your defense since 2000.

by Commander_Nate on Dec 30, 2011 10:30 AM PST up reply actions

Why the racist stuff?

Unlike this cat, my love for the LAA will never die.

by NathanielS on Dec 30, 2011 10:48 AM PST up reply actions

You're shocked you got banned there?

CJ Wilson is OUR douche now!

by ryanfea on Dec 30, 2011 11:01 AM PST up reply actions

is calling jackie robinson black, or babe ruth white, racist?

by angelsfan1299 on Dec 30, 2011 11:07 AM PST up reply actions

Did Babe Ruth come from a race where being white could get you killed?

Do human beings need to call into account a race and all the baggage that comes with it, i.e. cultural memory, when TALKING ABOUT BASEBALL?

Unlike this cat, my love for the LAA will never die.

by NathanielS on Dec 30, 2011 11:19 AM PST up reply actions

That is not really comparable to your previous comments

CJ Wilson is OUR douche now!

by ryanfea on Dec 30, 2011 11:20 AM PST up reply actions

Let me help here

Pointing out that he is of Iranian and Japanese decent is not racist. However, using a person’s ethnicity in a negative context along with negative stereotypes such as “squinty eyed” and “rice-eater” is.

For example, you can say I am a white guy from the Central Valley, but you can’t call me a “cousin marrying hick.” See the difference?

by JeffJoiner on Dec 30, 2011 11:38 AM PST up reply actions

^^^^

This

Unlike this cat, my love for the LAA will never die.

by NathanielS on Dec 30, 2011 11:44 AM PST up reply actions

Also

His eyes aren’t particularly squinty and his diet is not publicly shared.

by Halowitz on Dec 30, 2011 1:24 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

Irony. You sound like a proud Texan.

I would tone down the racism, Grand Wizard

"Bloody your hands on a cactus tree/
Wipe it on your dress and send it to me."

by Hutch83 on Dec 30, 2011 7:09 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

VooDoo is the best

by eyespy on Dec 30, 2011 10:14 AM PST reply actions

I stayed late at work to finish listening to this game.

AND I HATE IT HERE

Unlike this cat, my love for the LAA will never die.

by NathanielS on Dec 30, 2011 10:47 AM PST reply actions

This was a great day to be an Angels fan; one I remember well

I stayed home as long as I could, came into work at least an hour late, and followed Gameday for the last couple of innings. I wanted to hit HH so badly, but didnt’ want to do anything to disturb the mojo of the no-no.

Luckily the game started at 9 am so nobody in my office was even aware it was going on. I didn’t have to deal with somebody speaking the unspeakable, but there we quite a few surprised looks when I let out a loud “yes” when the final out was posted.

by JeffJoiner on Dec 30, 2011 11:11 AM PST reply actions

"I wanted to hit HH so badly..."

Your dedication to the no-no is truly awesome. I love how all the fans partake in the mojo, as well.

Also, reading the threads on certain Rangers message boards AFTER the fact was immensely pleasing.

Winning doesn't matter. -Lyle

by 5thStarter on Dec 30, 2011 1:50 PM PST up reply actions

I remember this game fondly

Victor Rojas was trying to come up with a lot of adjectives to describe Ervin while obviously trying to not say the obvious… “Ervin remains golden through 6…” “Bottom of the 7th and Ervin remains…beautiful!”

With a staff consisting of Weaver and Haren, I never thought it would have been Ervin that will deliver the Angels’ 9th no-hitter, and against Cleveland at that.

I hope Ervin remains an Angel for a very long time.

by smithy610 on Dec 30, 2011 11:32 AM PST reply actions