The Dodgers’ Rich Hill was six outs away from throwing a perfect game against the Marlins on Saturday, but manager Dave Roberts made the difficult decision to pull him after only 89 pitches. On the heels of Hill’s departure, Marlins outfielder Jeff Francoeur ended the Dodgers’ perfect game bid with an eighth-inning single off Joe Blanton.
Roberts explained why he made the move afterward, revealing that there were signs of the nagging blister on Hill’s left index finger returning, tweets Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. Hill, who struck out nine and could have tossed the 24th perfect game in major league history, countered Roberts by telling reporters that his finger felt fine (Twitter link via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com).
“I feel sick to my stomach,” said Roberts, who was on the verge of tears, per McCullough (Twitter links). “I’m going to lose sleep tonight. And I probably should.”
The Dodgers logged a 5-0 win to improve to 80-61 – good for a 4 1/2-game lead in the National League West. However, Roberts added that this particular victory feels like a loss (Twitter link via McCullough). This isn’t the first time Roberts has elected to stop one of his pitchers from a chance at making history, though his call to remove right-hander Ross Stripling from a no-hitter in his April 8 major league debut against the Giants wasn’t nearly as controversial. Stripling had already thrown 100 pitches through 7 1/3 innings, and Roberts said it was a “no-brainer” to take the rookie out of what was a tight game.
Hill, meanwhile, has cruised all year, having compiled a 1.80 ERA, 10.42 K/9 and 2.84 BB/9 in 95 innings, but injuries have robbed him of enjoying a full campaign. While the blister issue has bothered the 36-year-old journeyman since mid-July, that didn’t stop the Dodgers from trading a haul to the Athletics for him and outfielder Josh Reddick before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline. LA has reaped the rewards when Hill has pitched, as he has spun 19 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts and two walks in three starts. Ideally for the Dodgers, Hill will serve as an integral component of a playoff rotation in October, and their World Series hopes unsurprisingly factored into Roberts’ move to pull him.
“Nothing in my opinion is worth compromising our opportunity to win a championship,” offered Roberts (Twitter link via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).
In addition to trying to help the Dodgers win a title, a healthy Hill could pitch his way into a rich contract during the upcoming offseason. Despite his age, limited track record and durability questions, Hill will likely cash in as arguably the best starter in a weak free agent market. Hill was toiling in the independent Atlantic League a summer ago, but he has performed like an ace since a four-start stretch with the Red Sox last September.
This is tough. It’s great to see a manager care about his players safety, ecspecially will hills injury history. But you just can’t help wondering what could have been. I think it was a smart but very difficult move but I think he did the right thing.
I call BS. Those 2 innings are not going to be the difference between a championship and not. I suppose it was poetic that the Marlins were in the other dugout since they are the other franchise that is taking away potential great moments from the fans. I am sickened by this (and Stripling and Conley earlier this year). It’s decisions like this that make me wonder if it’s time for me to say goodbye to the game of baseball. It’s not the game I grew up with anymore.
The managers make team decisions for best of the team. Not for what fans of baseball want. I respect his decision, so should you, as this is still the game of baseball.
This^^^
I shouldn’t respect his decision because I do not agree with it. I don’t think it is good for the game of baseball. I don;t think it is good for Rich Hill. I don’t think it is good for the Dodgers or their fans. It is a slap in the face of baseball fans. I have no respect for him or his decision. They might call what they are doing baseball, but it is not the game I grew up with.. Quite frankly, I am tired of thinking about it and I think I may just spend a few days trying to find a new hobby.
^^^This
Good luck finding a better hobby. The game of baseball adapts. Infield shifts etc… starters dont throw 600+ innings, 500+ innings, 400+ innings etc. 3 man and 4 man rotations are gone. If you dont like that the game of baseball is evolving and adapting and its causing you to leave the game, you may not have been the fan you thought you were. Real talk.
Agree to disagree.
I think Roberts makes the correct call here. Hill is not exactly the most durable of pitchers and the Dodgers will most certainly be counting on him to help them get into the playoffs and go as far as possible. Can’t risk that.
Ray Ray I am sure baseball will survive without you as a fan. Maybe you can start following badminton or something good luck and good bye.
Yeah, saving their second best pitcher from a re-occurring injury that cost him weeks, right before the playoffs start, is totally not in the best interest of the dodgers or their fans. Maybe we should hear from the dodgers’ fans, as opposed to you.
Do you ever re-read what you type and realize how stupid you sound? You rarely, if ever, rely on facts to back up your posts. You simply go on gut feelings and your “discredit the source if it isn’t a direct quote of the person saying it” methodology.
Please go away. And take those like you with. Baseball doesn’t need fans like you.
Roberts completely makes the right call here ray ray. You can call bs or disagree all you want, your not grind paid to win a championship. Your a fan who wants to see a perfect game. He’s a manager doing his job.
should say getting*, not grind.
Agreed
I’m pretty torn on this — I personally would pretty much never pull a pitcher away from a perfect game, especially when he’s being economical (89 pitches through 7!!!!!)
On the other hand, the Dodgers are in the heart of a playoff race and have little room for error. This particular pitcher is fresh off the DL and it’s not a suuuper safe game lead (5-0).
So, it was disappointing how things went down, but it’s hard to fault a win.
“I shouldn’t respect his decision because I do not agree with it.”
Thanks for pointing out what’s wrong with America, I appreciate it.
The game isn’t evolving though its getting worse some of the best players in the league are shoe in’s for 120+ strikeouts, pitchers are being lost for a year and a half at a time, because they can only throw 100 percent effort pitches every single pitch. All this babying of pitchers has not made injuries go down. If you want modern baseball to be dumbed down for fans that is fine but baseball purists don’t like it, and if baseball has learned any thing in the past these casual fans wont stick around.
To get this out of the way: I am not specifically commenting on Rich Hill or this situation.
That said, saying that the manager makes decisions that are best for the team and not the individual is perfectly fine in theory, but it’s also not a get-out-of-jail free card in terms of questioning those decisions. He made the best decision in his judgement, but questioning that judgement is perfectly fair.
That depends entirely on how his judgement is being questioned. If the line of attack is he denied Hill the possibility of entering the record books with an individual accomplishment, then the attack fails on its premise. Baseball is still a team sport and success is measured by team accomplishments.
“There’s a lot of fans in Los Angeles who are upset with me, I’m sure,” Roberts said. “But the city of Los Angeles, the Dodgers, I think, in my opinion, that was the best thing for us to win a championship.”
I believe most LA fans are not the least bit upset with you, Dave. Most of the noise will come from the media, which likes storylines they can exploit, and fans from outside of LA who don’t care about the Dodgers. In fact, from what I am seeing, most Dodgers fans salute you for getting it.
Those two innings could absolutely be the difference between a championship and not winning it. Had Hill gone back out for the last two innings and had another blister, he probably misses playoff time. It took nuts to do what Roberts did, and he absolutely made the right call if there were signs of Hill’s blister acting up again.
Rich Hill is made of paper. Those 2 innings would’ve absolutely made a difference.
Please do ray ray, please do.
Rich Hill missed….how long with that blister issue? Yeah, the dodgers don’t want to jeopardize him starting in the division series (or wc if CK goes down and they end up there).
Yes, because until this season there has never been a pitcher removed from a game while throwing a no-hitter or perfect game before.
Hill has started three games in two months. Caution is perfectly acceptable here. I think we can all remember what happened to Johan Santana.
Actually, yesterday was the first time in baseball HISTORY a pitcher was pulled while throwing a PERFECT game.. not a no hitter, a PERFECT GAME. dumb move by the Dodgers manager and a sad day for baseball that the fans were deprived a shot at history. The sport exists for the fans after all, and what is more important than a perfect game?? one win? the Dodgers aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs this year so it makes no sense to deprive the sport of another legendary moment. I don’t understand this new pssy style of baseball the kids are playing these days. such a shame.
Pitchers have been pulled with perfect games hundreds of times in baseball history. Not at 7 innings, but that’s just an arbitrary endpoint, right? I’m sure the few thousand fans there will survive. The Dodgers are playing for October, not a single game in September.
Actually, you are incorrect. That was the FIRST time in recorded baseball history that any pitcher was pulled while throwing a perfect game (barring injury). I challenge you to find any stat otherwise, because you won’t.
Using the play index I find dozens and dozens (nearly 100) of pitchers who left perfect games, sometimes after one inning (due to rain delays), sometimes after three or five due to rain or injuries, sometimes because it was a reliever starting a game and pitching two perfect innings in a spot start. Hill was actually pulled because of injury, so he certainly falls into one of those boxes. Hill was the first one pulled after 7, but nowhere near the first pitcher ever pulled while throwing a perfect game.
Once again, you are incorrect. Delays and injuries are not the same. Those are necessary instances when a pitcher is removed – not ‘pulled’ while still able to pitch. Hill was not pulled because of injury, but because of fear of potential injury. He could’ve easily continued to pitch. So again, the stat I stated and which ESPN confirmed, is 100% correct – no pitcher has ever been pulled (not removed) while throwing a perfect game.
Makes no sense what you said, read the article he had the same blister on the same finger that tore last time causing him to miss a month-those 2 innings would affect his post season by making him unable to pitch – as for Fernandez – as a fan I’d rather see him pitch 5 years injury free rather than watching him get the only win in a playoff series
You’re the only one on this forum with any sense Rayray. It’s a different sport and it’s embarrassing. Just let the millennials F up baseball like they’ve been Fing up my country. Everyone is such a little btch these days, no real men anymore. Rich Hill deserved his chance at history. This weak willed step by the nobody manager of the Dodgers is one step closer to transgender bathrooms… this country is going to hell.
It’s funny how you blame millenials for these problems…when the people actually putting the laws into effect/making these decisions are more part of the Baby Boomer generation or older generations.
And the game is different because times change. This is no longer the 60s or 70s. If you have such a problem with how everything is run…do something about it. Go out and try to make a difference instead of sitting behind a computer complaining about it.
Roberts should ashamed of himself. He’s robbing the players and fans of a possible special moment
sbrownies, that has to be you
We are waiting for that moment in October. I’d rather have that over a perfect game.
There’s a reason Dave is a manager of the year candidate and will be in the Maddon, Bochy class of mangers in a few years when he gains the necessary experience to be an elite manager. This was the right move.
NL Manager of the Year, hands down. I still don’t know how the Dodgers are in the hunt for the playoffs with an entire starting rotation in the DL, along with an outfield that has gotten little from what was to be their five outfielders (Puig, Ethier, CCrawford – little to nothing).
Kudos, Roberts!
the giants choked it away
Leave it to Blanton to blow the perfecto. He was through three years ago….which makes him perfect for the weak N.L. West.
Oh no, he gave up a hit. Blanton has been good – and the NL West will be happy to send two teams to the postseason, irrespective of your view.
True that. The Dodgers bullpen only looks good overall because of the efforts of Messrs. Jansen and Blanton.
So Blanton’s line last year (2.84 ERA/2.92 FIP, 4.94 K/BB ratio, and 1.12 WHIP) and his numbers this year (2.44 ERA/3.47 FIP, 3.09 K/BB, and 0.95 WHIP) are just flukes and he’s just a terrible pitcher.
You can’t deprive a guy of the opportunity to reach baseball immortality. I get the team thing, and the big picture, but part of managing is having your guys know you will position and encourage them to achieve excellence when it’s in front of them.
So you’d let a guy throw 180 pitches to get a perfect game?
Where’d you pull that number from? He was at 89. 89 through 7 is very economically for a pitcher in today’s game.
That said, if the guy is showing signs of a blister returning, I understand pulling him.
pretty sure if you had 180 pitches you wouldn’t have a perfect game. lol
I’m not sure you really do get the team thing. Tommy Lasorda said it best: you play for the name on the front of your jersey, not the name on the back.
Actually, you play for the fans. And the fans wanted a perfect game. Not a Dodgers fan but I lost all respect for that franchise last night.
You almost had a fair point then you lost it in the sun. Dodger fans don’t need your respect, actually.
lol I’m glad you think so, because they don’t have it, actually. how can anyone have respect for a team whose manager doesn’t respect the finer points of the game of baseball? worst manager ever, tied with Bobby valentine. As soon as the Dodgers left Brooklyn they were doomed to dwell in mediocrity for eternity. Not even the highest payroll in baseball can save them from that fate.
Well, wasn’t that bizarre?
Have we all forgotten what happened to Johan Santana? Threw a 137-pitch no-hitter and never basically pitched again.
Baseball immortality? You mean, like Phillip Humber and Len Barker and Charles Robertson?
Their names are present in Cooperstown.
89 pitches. Just brutal.
A blister already robbed Hill and the Dodgers of three weeks pitching. It’s not a risk worth taking so close to the playoffs. Tough, but this is about championships – #1 priority.
Well Dodgers, this year is one thing…. but you can kiss goodbye to signing Rich Hill in the off season now. He wanted to go back to the east coast anyhow apparently… I would wager this just killed LA’s chances of changing that. Unless maybe they win it all and he’s a big part of it.
The dodgers have infinity money. They will get who they want if the price is right.
If Rich Hill really values his *chance* – note, he wasn’t even THAT close – at a perfect game, above the team’s overall goals, perhaps the dodgers would be better off with out him.
Somehow I think the Dodgers will be fine without signing Rich Hill this offseason. You ever heard of Urias and De Leon? Or did you see how nicely Stripling filled in this year? Or how effective Brock Stewart has been now that he is settling in? Don’t forget we have two other really solid looking young starters that could make the jump to the majors next year if need be in Chase De Jong and Trevor Oaks, With Yadier Alvarez making great strides so far, Jordan Sheffield doing the same, and Walker Buehler all moving fast and likely to start at AA Tulsa next year, we have more than enough pitching depth alone in our own system.
A managers primary goal is to win championships,not see that his players gain individual honors.
Hate to say it, but Roberts probably made the right call.If this was even a month ago then maybe you’d have to say something. But the playoffs are around the corner and the Dodgers are still not out of the woods yet. A bad week by them and they have an extra game to play before getting the Cubs in the NLCS. Roberts has to be cautious.
Hill missed like 5-6(?) weeks with his blister the last time? This isn’t only about securing the division down the stretch, but whether or not he’s available to even pitch in an NLDS.
I kinda figured both of those went together.
Figured you may have meant WC by ‘extra game to play”. After your response and re-reading your post, I getcha now.
Why do you hate to say it? I watched both Roberts and Honeycutt talk about this decision after the game. Neither of them took it the least bit lightly. It’s true, when he was interviewed, Roberts looked close to tears. The press conference didn’t come up as quickly as usual afterwards. I imagine he had to collect himself first. He did what he thought was in the best interests of the team’s stretch run and postseason. Nobody should hate to say that he managed his ball club like a manager. As much as I was sitting on the edge of my chair (especially after that miraculous catch by Puig), I totally get it, and I take my hat off for Dave Roberts.
In the process, he may have done Hill a favor as well. What if Hill gets injured the next start? All of a sudden Roberts comes under fire for leaving an injury prone pitcher out there for too long.
Roberts was in a no-win situation here. Focusing on what was best for the team was the correct call and hopefully those who can view this situation objectively will see that. It was obviously a tough call for him too, knowing how rare these feats are. His postgame comments reflect that. Much respect to Dave Roberts for making this difficult call.
It could work out that way. But either way, Roberts is really should only be in a no-win situation if he made the decision for the wrong reason, and winning is never the wrong reason. It may take an advance into the postseason with a healthy Rich Hill to prove it to some people, but it really should not. Roberts has already proven what a lot of us suspected all along, that he understands what this denied fan base is after even if a lot of the sports media and fans outside of the area do not. The bottom line is, one perfect game would not compensate for another postseason wipeout. Dave Roberts has his eyes on the prize.
No hitters might be the most over rated accomplishment in baseball. Its largely a fluke of BABIP luck. Some of the greatest pitchers in baseball never pitched one. Pedro Martinez for example (actually, he lost his in the 10th, but that was his only one). Some very mediocre pitchers have pitched one or more.
If a pitcher can accomplish it on a normal pitch count, great. Otherwise, just forget it. Especially for guys who are at risk of injury. With all the injuries to Dodgers pitching, Roberts would have to be insane to let him go to far.
I do think he could have let him go another inning, and Hill probably gives up a hit. However, if he did not give up a hit in the 8th, the temptation gets a bit stronger.
All good points. If Hill pitches a hitless 8th, it becomes even an more difficult decision to lift him, even if he’s gone well over the number of pitches they are comfortable allowing him to make. Ned Colletti said several times during the postgame show that Hill was on a max pitch count of 90.
Come on now, 23 pitches shy of his season high? Do you even count Roberts? DO YOU EVEN COUNT!?!
What the Hell was Roberts thinking? You NEVER pull a pitcher during a no-hitter! EVER!
There have been 11 tandem no-hitters in history, most of them in September or April.
And btw, there have been 252 no-hitters in history. It’s not a particularly rare feat.
Perfect games are much rarer but even then bad pitchers have thrown perfect games. For a guy making his third start in two months because of various injuries, it seemed like the reasonably cautious decision.
Hmm 252 no hitters in how many games played?
252 no hitters in over 210,000 games played , still a rare and special feat
Yeah, I’ll always remember Jose Jimenez and Bud Smith because of their career-defining no-hitters.
Yeah? Johan is a God to us Mets fans. You think the Dodgers wouldn’t mind having only their 2nd perfect game and 1st in 51 years?
If it ended the career of their second-best starter? I think that would be a problem. I’m sure Johan was happy for the no-hitter, but the fact he kept trying to pitch for years after that without success makes me think he might have liked to continue his career as well.
Come on man. Everyone knows tandem no-hitters don’t count. I’m a Padres fan and if Andy Green pulls a pitcher during a no-hitter I’d rather have the bullpen give up a hit than complete the no-hitter. If their first no-hitter is a tandem no-hitter the record books will just change to say “The Padres are the only team to have never had a single pitcher throw a no-hitter.” It just would seem like we’re not good enough for the real thing if you know what I mean.
Tandem no-hitters do count in the record books. The only no-hitters that don’t count anymore are ones in which the pitcher took the loss, which wiped out Andy Hawkins’ no-hitter with the Yankees.
Please don’t Joe Maddon me to death. Dave Roberts is hands-down NL manager of the year. And his decision was 100% right. Hill is the type of pitcher who needs more “protection” than most. Too many award and stat crazy people these days. Good job, Dave!
Highest payroll in baseball , candidate yes but hands down no
Tomato on, I agree with you. If my Cubs had the payroll or the seemingly endless amount of money to spend that the Dodgers do, they might have 105 wins now instead of 90.
What does payroll have to do with Roberts? He didn’t sign guys to contracts. That’s like voting for an all-star team based on players salary.
Dave Roberts has by far been the best manager with what he has to work with.
And half of his team has been on the DL this year including the best pitcher in the game.
Hill said his finger was fine and only had 89 pitches. should have let him try for is perfect game its not like the Dodgers are going to go anywhere in the playoffs anyway. Chokes
^^^^^^ THIS
Athletes are always know for their complete transparency when it comes to injuries also. Trainers were monitoring his finger after the the first inning.
And have you watched Rich Hill pitch? That’s a high-effort delivery if there ever was one.
I suppose my question would be why not let him out there for the 8th? Except, that the answer is likely that even if he had a perfecto, he would have ended up near 110 pitches, and maybe that’s too much. I wonder if Roberts wasn’t really worried about the 1st and 2nd batters in the 8th. They battle Hill, he puts them away after 5-6 pitch AB, and suddenly you are at 100 with 4 outs away. Then you really are all in
As somebody who’s played football (soccer) all of my life and only played baseball for a couple of years it seems a strange debate. The manager’s job is to win games, and he needs to never lose sight of that. If pulling Rich Hill reduced the chances of an injury like blisters causing him to miss another start, it’s a no-brainer. For those thinking its some sign of the times and the end of baseball, I really think you need to chill. No hitters and perfect games only mean something because you’re playing in a competitive environment. Roberts feels bad because he made a tough decision. That’s what makes great managers in any industry, doing the right thing and caring about the effect on the people involved.
“fans” like RayRay are the reason people like RayRay work at taco bell and are not a major league manager…
Brah, who the hell are you to pass down judgement from up above?
He’s ironman. Duh.
Interesting how the Dodgers and Giants handled similar situation with their two trade deadline starters. Matt Moore is allowed to throw 130 pitches to go after his no-no; Hill is pulled after 89 pitches. Since Moore’s epic start, he has given up 7 runs in 8 innings with 10 hits and five walks — albeit one was a poor Coors’ start.. It will be interesting to see how each pitcher performs hereon out.