I've long thought that an excellent ad campaign for baseball would be to highlight an ordinary game of baseball that unexpectedly turns out to be amazing. The reverse is more common where a game between two big name pitchers or two heated rivals going at it. Both of those can be wonderful and I'll admit that it's fun to watch the Yankees go into Fenway but the real reward is something else.
On Tuesday night the Twins played the White Sox down in Chicago. The Sox starter was a pitcher that had pretty much been given up for useless before they traded for him as a reclamation project. He started the game by walking some batters and looked a little out of control. Round about the fourth inning people started realizing that he hadn't given up a hit yet. On and on he went and even though the score (7-1) wasn't close there was the tension of whether or not he could complete the no-hitter. He lost it in the ninth but everyone there got a very unexpected thrill.
Wednesday night the Twins new centerfielder opened up the game with a homerun. The kid has excellent skills but is very raw. He could be a star if he puts it all together or he could never develop and flame out. Last night he was on fire and batted for the cycle (homer, triple, double and single). Only the eighth time a Twins player has done that. Again, no one bought their ticket, or tuned in the TV thinking they might see history happen.
Two nights, two incredible games.
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