Carving His Name into Yankee History


Corey Kluber authored baseball's big story on Wednesday night, when he threw the sixth nine-inning no hitter of the season. Tack on the unofficial seven inning gem by Madison Bumgarner, we're talking seven in just seven weeks. That's already more than took place during 1968, which is less than fondly remembered as the Year of the Pitcher.

Facing the Rangers -- for whom he pitched just one inning a year ago, before suffering a broken arm -- the longtime Indian was in complete control; only a 3rd inning walk to Charlie Culberson separated him from perfection. Kluber struck out nine; 71 of his 101 pitches were strikes. It was the first Yankee no hitter this century and the 12th in their history. Hard to believe, but it's been 22 years since the last one (David Cone's 1999 perfect game). While there's no "commemorative tree" at Yankee Stadium, Kluber did, in a sense, carve his name into team history. Alongside Cone and Wells, Gooden, Righetti and Larsen.

Honorable mention goes to Tyler Wade, for important contributions with his bat and his glove. Keep in mind, he wasn't even in the starting lineup -- Wade came into the game after Ryan LaMarre left with a hamstring injury. His 6th inning triple scored Kyle Higashioka with the Yanks' first run; DJ LeMahieu then drove Wade home for the other. Then, in the top of the 9th, he tracked down David Dahl's hard-hit fly ball for the next-to-last out.

I've yet to see Kluber pitch in person since joining the Yankees. So, it was time to reach into my archive and find an image from his Cleveland days. Wednesday, he was still wearing 28, but this time in Yankee road grays. An image seen on TV and now preserved as part of baseball history forever.

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