A virtuoso performance

[Ricordanza]

I'm talking, of course, about Roy Halladay's perfect game. No pitcher is more deserving of a place in baseball history (this is only the 20th perfect game in the history of the major leagues). And I salute the Philadelphia Inquirer for summoning out of retirement one of the best sports writers of all time, Bill Lyon, to tell us about it.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_pa ... z0pPNdQ1ns

[MarkC]

LOL!
I must admit, you fooled me.
I was wondering, who just gave a concert? Kissin? Ax? Ma? Hamelin?

And yes.

Halladay is one of the greats, right before our eyes. If there's any pitcher who "deserves" to get a perfect game, he's it.

When fans talk about who might make the Hall of Fame, often they start pulling out statistics and stuff. I'm into those as much as anyone (I almost spend most of my spare time on baseball statistics) but I look at it 'conceptually': Who were the standout players, the ones we think of immediately as being the greats, the ones who in some way were larger than life?

We don't have to look at Halladay's stats to know that he's one of those players. And this was icing on the cake -- even though the cake has a lot of layers yet to come.

Congrats to Halladay, the Phils and their fans.

[slofstra]

Thanks for reminding me of why I dislike major league baseball so much.

[MarkC]

Thanks for reminding me of why I dislike major league baseball so much.

I think you'll need to tell us exactly why that is.

[HoustonDavid]

I look at major league baseball as a great replacement for the usually terrible summer
season on television. My local team - who can't seem to find the win column - plays
most evenings and weekends, and I can often listen to good music and read a book
while paying close attention to the action on the field, which is usually not very
interesting. Whenever it does break the monotony with a piece of good work by
someone, they will replay it right up until another - usually boring - inning starts or a
good - often funny - beer commercial must be shown to pay the bills. I really do love
the game and appreciate the skill of the players, but it is also a great way to catch
up with my reading, listening, and blogging.

[MarkC]

.....My local team - who can't seem to find the win column.....

I follow 'your' team a little bit closely because one of the players -- Jeff Keppinger -- became a mild (very mild) cult figure while he was here in New York with the Mets. I'm glad to see that he's doing well -- or at least seems to be, from what I can tell in the boxscores.

[Barry]

I'm an absolute Phillies fanatic, but I was out of town and not able to watch the first perfect game by a Phils pitcher since the year before I was born.