Detroit — It's something not many people can say they have seen in their lifetime. In fact, the last time it happened by a Tigers pitcher in Detroit was 55 years ago. But Tuesday night, I was at Comerica Park when Justin Verlander did the nearly impossible and tossed a no-hitter. I am one of the few who can say, "I have seen one in my lifetime." It is something I will never forget.
As I got out of bed Tuesday morning, I had a random urge to make the trip down to Detroit and go to the Tigers game. It wasn't planned, and when 5:30 p.m. came around and I was still sitting at my house in East Lansing, I had doubts about whether we were going to make the trip. But I gathered up my friends, and by 6 p.m. we were on the road.
The park was packed when we arrived, and it took a while to find our seats and settle down. Chants of "Let's go Tigers!" filled the air as we finally reached our seats in the bottom of the third inning.
As the sixth inning came to an end, I looked up at the scoreboard and realized Verlander, indeed, had a no-hitter going. I know tradition says you are not supposed to talk about it, but I couldn't resist. I have been to a lot of Tigers games in my life, but never could I recall seeing a no-hitter this deep into a game.
Then again, never have I seen Verlander look as dominant as he did Tuesday night. The 24-year-old right-hander had Milwaukee hitters off balance all night, and as he closed out a perfect sixth inning, it looked like he was getting stronger as the game went on.
The biggest scare came in the eighth inning when Verlander walked Milwaukee's Bill Hall for the third time in the game. The next batter laced a hard ground ball up the middle, and Neifi Perez reached out and flipped the ball to second basemen Placido Polanco, who completed the inning-ending double play.
The crowd roared at the top of their lungs as Perez saved the day and Verlander's no-hitter was still intact. I kept thinking to myself, "Is this actually going to happen?"
As the Brewers came up to bat in the ninth, the entire park rose to their feet in anticipation of being a part of history. Verlander struck out the first batter with ease.
Two outs away … Verlander fanned the second Milwaukee batter as he reached 101 mph in the ninth inning. I was truly in the presence of history.
One out away … Deep fly ball to right field as Magglio Ordonez backs up and makes the catch. The team storms the mound and mauls Verlander as he completed the first no-hitter by a Tigers pitcher since Jack Morris did it on the road in 1984.
Comerica Park was rocking as history was made. I took a minute to look around take in everything that just happened. I stared at the scoreboard and the number zero under Milwaukee hits.
I was in the presence of history, one of the greatest pitching performances of all time and a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Sean Merriman can be reached at merrim22@msu.edu.
