AZcentral.com wrote the perfect headline for why I chose my MLBoyfriend this week: "Astros' Gerrit Cole flirts with no-hitter". Gerrit Cole did throw an amazing game on Friday, May 4th. First, he went nine full innings--which is very rare these days even when a pitcher is doing well. In those nine innings Cole allowed no runs and only one hit and one base on balls. That's not just flirting with a no-hitter; it's flirting with a perfect game.
Cole also struck out 16 batters in the game. That's a lot. It was a career high for him. As a point of comparison, 20 is the most that a single pitcher has struck out in a regular nine-inning game. Here's a look at all 16 strike-threes in just 16 seconds.
There are two things that are notable about that video. The second is how amazingly consistent Cole's form is. If you didn't notice the batter changing, it would look like a loop of the same pitch. With that consistency, Cole has struck out a whopping 77 batters so far this season. (That was the most of any pitcher in MLB until Max Scherzer pass him with 80 on Sunday, May 6th.)
As good as he is at baseball, I wonder if, perhaps, Gerrit Cole isn't playing in the wrong sport. Since I live in Minnesota, I can't help noticing that the he has perfect hockey hair.
