Sportsman of the Week Ending 8/30/2020

That magical pitching feat in baseball.  Twenty-seven outs, no baserunners reach via a batter ball not ruled an error.  Otherwise known as a no hitter  It happened again, even with the shortened season.  Chicago White Sox ace pitcher Lucas Giolito shut down the Pittsburgh Pirates for a full nine innings (not one of those shortened ones) recording the first (and likely only) no hitter in 2020.  With a stout defense behind him, he walked only one batter in facing 28 with 27 outs fanning 13 Bucs.  The 26 year-old, former first round draft pick seems to be reaching his full potential.  With this effort, opponents are batting only .180 against him for the season.  A microscopic .149 batting average against in August.  As the White Sox are positioned for a postseason run, Giolito will likely get his first chance to pitch in the playoffs in October.  He'll be the guy you don't want to face.  He is the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 6/22/2015

Another week and another no-hitter.  Almost perfect game.  Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer baffled the Pittsburgh Pirates 26-up, 26-down through the first 8 2/3 innings on Saturday.  Then after a hit by pitch (he leaned his elbow in), the 27th out secured the no-no.  Ten strikeouts and 106 pitches. This was coming off a complete game shutout with just one hit and one walk.  So total over the last two outings.  2-0, 18 IP, 1 H, 1BB, 1 HBP, 26 strikeouts.  Some are calling it the best two-game stretch in pitching history.  Certainly worthy of the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/13/2013

This week's sportsman has emerged from rookie obscurity to be a playoff difference-maker in a matter of months.  Michael Wacha of the St. Louis Cardinals burst onto the baseball scene with a near no-hitter on September 24 in his final regular season start, then has been occasionally tapped by manager Mike Matheny throughout these playoffs.  This week, he delivered two key wins for the Red Birds as they surge toward their second World Series in three years.  Wacha pitched brilliantly in delivering a must-have Game 4 NLDS victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates (in a Cardinals elimination game), then followed it up with a dominant NLCS Game 2 performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  For the week (and postseason), Wacha sits at 2-0, 14 IP, 6H, 1 ER, and 17K.  Amazing numbers and worth of the Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 10/6/2013

We turn back to Major League Baseball as the 2013 MLB playoffs begin.  This week's Sportsman of the Week is Pedro Alvarez.  He led the NL in home runs (36) and eventually set a record of most consecutive playoff games with at least 1 RBI to start a career (with six).  Pedro Alvarez went 4-13 (.306), with 2 HR and 6 RBI over the four game stretch, while lead the Pirates to a 3-1 record.  In the process, dispatching of the Cincinnati Reds and putting the St. Louis Cardinals on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 game lead (that didn't hold up).  Congratulations to Pedro Alvarez, this week's Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!

Sportsman of the Week Ending 9/30/2012

Going back to hardball for this week's Sportsman of the Week.  Homer Bailey finally lived up to his draft stock hype in delivering a no-hitter and tight 1-0 win in Pittsburgh for the first place Cincinnati Reds.  28 up, 27 down, one walk away from a complete game with 10 punch outs.  One of the easiest 9th innings you'll see in a no-hitter situation, felt like the Pirates could have gone another 9 innings without any more luck.  A very deserving Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!