Near Perfection: The Historic Renaissance of Corey Kluber
Photo Credit: Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press
No-hitters in Major League Baseball have become oddly commonplace this year. On Tuesday night, Detroit Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull wrote his comeback story, tossing all zeroes against the Seattle Mariners for the league’s fifth no-hitter this season. Just 24 hours later, Corey Kluber took the mound for the Yankees and accomplished something the organization has not seen in 22 years (or 25, depending on your view of the world): he threw a no-hitter, baseball’s sixth this season, and one of its most dominant at that.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone joked in his postgame press conference that he had the thought enter his mind back in the first inning, but it speaks to the kind of stuff the 2017 Cy Young Award winner had last night. Kluber baffled the Rangers lineup all night with pinpoint location and devastating sliders. Though the Yankees have been feeling quite good about the acquisition of Kluber after working his way through a tough sequence of opening starts, Wednesday night was something even beyond the genuine article of Vintage Kluber.
Perhaps the only thing that wasn’t reminiscent of Kluber’s previous run of dominance was the fact that fans actually saw moments where the embattled ace seemed to be taking in the moment. To the surprise of many long-time baseball fans, Kluber was spotted shooting the shit with battery mate Kyle Higashioka deep into the pressure point their historic gem. Despite the short-handed Yankees having to use two natural infielders at the corner outfield positions, the final result was almost never in doubt. A third inning walk to Charlie Culberson was all that would stand in the way of perfection for Corey Kluber on Wednesday night.
Though, like all great no-no’s, Kluber did require just a drop of baseball magic to make the whole thing happen. Though the Yankees grow confident in Miguel Andujar’s ability to handle left field, not one line drive nor fly ball off a Texas bat found the OF still very much finding his footing. After recent call-up Ryan LaMarre had to leave the game in the third inning, the short-staffed Bombers were forced to play utility infielder Tyler Wade in RF, as Aaron Judge was taking a well-earned half-day as the team’s DH. Not only did Wade provide adequate cover in right, but fate cemented him as the unforgettable third man in this instant “Yankees Classic.”
With the game entering the sixth inning, the Yankees offense found themselves running the risk of blowing Kluber’s bid for the history books. Despite receiving the start of a lifetime from their star hurler, the Yankees lineup was rendered almost as ineffective as the Rangers’, managing only two hits of their own through the first five innings. After Highashioka led off the top of the 6th with a walk, the eye of the game found itself locked on Tyler Wade, who managed to lace a 2-0 pitch into the RCF gap, sending Higgy off to the races and landing Wade at third with an enormous RBI triple. After DJ LeMahieu summoned Wade home with a sac-fly, the Yankees had all the insurance they needed.
The final three outs were certainly the most nerve-wracking, as the beleaguered Rangers lineup did not go gentle into the night. Culberson, the only Rangers player to reach base against Kluber, led off the inning with a bullet to second base that was expertly trapped on a short-hop by LeMahieu, (exhale), one out. Next the Rangers sent up pesky, professional hitter David Dahl to pinch hit, moving every Yankees fan in the continental United States to the edge of their seat. Dahl did his job, putting bat on ball for a stiff line drive to right field…caught by a charging Tyler Wade for the second out. Just as Yankees fans were reforming out of the puddle we all just dissolved into, fans regained consciousness to see Willie Calhoun bound a soft ground ball near second base, where a shifted Gleyber Torres provided no drama in firing the final out to Luke Voit, sending the Yankees team into hysterics around Kluber.
In this day of no-hitters becoming commonplace, it’s easy to feel a bit jaded in celebrating something we see on an almost weekly basis. Yet, to an entire generation of Yankees fans, this is a genuinely new and exciting experience for a team that, for all their glory, is a bit short on new and exciting experiences. Yankees fans have every right to be enthused for themselves, and even more reason to be thrilled for the men who made it happen. Two years ago, it seemed unlikely if not completely absurd to think that Kluber or Higashioka would ever achieve what they accomplished last night. As great as his career had been, the myth of Corey Kluber had far outweighed the reality as injuries derailed a career once thought to be on a trajectory towards Cooperstown. Though he has work yet to do to regain that level of stature around the league, his recent run of form has proven without a doubt he was a risk worth taking for the Yankees. Higashioka, once finding himself as an also-ran in the Yankees system, has turned himself into an invaluable contributor and (quite clearly) terrific at calling a game for his pitcher. You truly saw the best side of professional sports when watching their teammates shower them with love, and you’d be hard-pressed to find two men more deserving of the honor.