Ron Robinson--1987
Invariably, each time a starting
pitcher takes the mound, there is a
moment of uncertainty before the first
pitch in which the hurler asks
themself, "Will this be the day I throw
a no-hitter?" While the answer
usually comes within the first
inning or so, there have been times
scattered throughout baseball history
when dreams have come true.
The other day, Mark Buerhle's dream
came to life as he tossed a perfect
game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In complete control and with the help
of Dwayne Wise's wall scaling heroics
in the 9th inning; Buerlhe pitched the
18th perfect game in major league
history.
It was quite a day for baseball.
Which takes us back to May 2, 1988,
when Cincinnati's Ron Robinson took
the mound versus the Montreal
Expos. Affectionately referred to as
"The True Creature" in the Queen
City, for his ambling stride and his
less than model-esque looks,
Robinson came within a pitch of
tossing a perfect game on a cool
Monday night in Cincinnati.
Working for the Reds at the time, I
remember watching from General
Manager Murray Cook's box with
excitement as each pitch of the ninth
inning brought Robinson closer to
baseball immortality.
With two outs and Wallace Johnson
pinch-hitting for Pascual Perez, the
lefty swinger worked a 2-2 count
before depositing a soft single to left
field.
The dream was over.
With a 3-0 lead, a discouraged
Robinson missed his location to the
next hitter and Tim Raines laced a
home run to bring the Expos to within
a run. With that, manager Pete Rose
summoned John Franco from the
bullpen to close out the win for the
Reds.
I never asked Ron about the feelings
out on the mound that night, as an
outwardly smiling Robinson in the
clubhouse had to be crying inside.
We can only imagine that on some
nights Robinson wakes up in a cold
sweat with a pounding heart as he
relives in a dream his near perfect
game nightmare.
Editor's Note: Robinson finished with
a very respectable 48-39, 3.63 mark,
as his 9-year big league career was
marred by continual elbow problems.
In fact, he was enduring elbow
problems at the time of his near
perfect game. I did eventually witness
a perfect game later in the season
when Tom Browning hurled
perfection at the Los Angeles
Dodgers on September 16th.
pitcher takes the mound, there is a
moment of uncertainty before the first
pitch in which the hurler asks
themself, "Will this be the day I throw
a no-hitter?" While the answer
usually comes within the first
inning or so, there have been times
scattered throughout baseball history
when dreams have come true.
The other day, Mark Buerhle's dream
came to life as he tossed a perfect
game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In complete control and with the help
of Dwayne Wise's wall scaling heroics
in the 9th inning; Buerlhe pitched the
18th perfect game in major league
history.
It was quite a day for baseball.
Which takes us back to May 2, 1988,
when Cincinnati's Ron Robinson took
the mound versus the Montreal
Expos. Affectionately referred to as
"The True Creature" in the Queen
City, for his ambling stride and his
less than model-esque looks,
Robinson came within a pitch of
tossing a perfect game on a cool
Monday night in Cincinnati.
Working for the Reds at the time, I
remember watching from General
Manager Murray Cook's box with
excitement as each pitch of the ninth
inning brought Robinson closer to
baseball immortality.
With two outs and Wallace Johnson
pinch-hitting for Pascual Perez, the
lefty swinger worked a 2-2 count
before depositing a soft single to left
field.
The dream was over.
With a 3-0 lead, a discouraged
Robinson missed his location to the
next hitter and Tim Raines laced a
home run to bring the Expos to within
a run. With that, manager Pete Rose
summoned John Franco from the
bullpen to close out the win for the
Reds.
I never asked Ron about the feelings
out on the mound that night, as an
outwardly smiling Robinson in the
clubhouse had to be crying inside.
We can only imagine that on some
nights Robinson wakes up in a cold
sweat with a pounding heart as he
relives in a dream his near perfect
game nightmare.
Editor's Note: Robinson finished with
a very respectable 48-39, 3.63 mark,
as his 9-year big league career was
marred by continual elbow problems.
In fact, he was enduring elbow
problems at the time of his near
perfect game. I did eventually witness
a perfect game later in the season
when Tom Browning hurled
perfection at the Los Angeles
Dodgers on September 16th.
