And then they were perfect

By Jenna Hudson

Maybe there's something in the water for the National League West pitchers.

Or maybe it was luck that the ace pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants both threw career games in one night.

But whatever it was, it was nothing short of incredible.

This day and age baseball is all about home runs and batting averages. The value of great pitching is often overshadowed.

But Tuesday night in Atlanta, something truly special happened.

The 40-year-old phenomenon Randy Johnson threw only the 17th perfect game in major league history, becoming the oldest pitcher in history to do so.

Adding this crowning achievement to a list of Cy Young awards, a previous no-hitter (in 1990), a myriad of strikeout records and a World Series championship, the Big Unit struck out his final batter with a 98 mph fastball.

Johnson's name was quickly propelled to newspaper headlines, nearly eclipsing what was happening in Chicago.

Jason Schmidt, last year's runner up for the National League Cy Young award, threw his own career-best one-hitter.

It was too bad that it came in the same night that Johnson made history in Atlanta.

Even as a hardcore Giants fan, I have to admit I was so caught up in the excitement of perfection, I nearly missed what was happening.

Schmidt matched Johnson's 13 strikeouts, giving up only one lone infield single in the fifth before retiring the last 13 batters.

To me there is nothing better in baseball than a pitchers' duel. Call me old fashioned, but slug-fests remind me of car crash movies â€" they're just not that pleasant.

I have a great appreciation for the powerhouse sluggers in the game, but there is something truly special about a pitcher with the finesse and poise to pitch a complete game shutout.

It is not just physically â€" but mentally â€" taxing to stay in the game for nine innings and dominate.

For my generation, these games are rare. And the from times that I have watched them, I can say there is nothing better.

Some say boring, I say baseball at its absolute best.

Last night will live on in history as nothing short of perfect.

û Contact Jenna Hudson at (408) 554-4852 or jhudson@scu.edu.