With A Jimmmitude: Musgrove, Caratini, Naquin, Cueto
Joe Musgrove comes home to throw a no-no
If there is anyone who deserved to throw the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history it has be Joe Musgrove. How can you not be happy for this guy? Musgrove is from the area and came home after three years with the Pirates which were so-so. Coming back to his hometown team and making team history has to be an incredible feeling.
In addition to San Diego Padres history, some MLB history was also made with Musgrove’s no-hitter. The Padres were the last active team to be without a no-hitter and now every active team in the majors has one. Mark that down as a fun piece of trivia for the future.
Again, congratulations to Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres.
Victor Caratini catches another no-hitter
Something else that was noteworthy from Musgrove’s no-hitter Friday was the presence of Victor Caratini. Caratini was on the Chicago Cubs last season and caught a no-hitter thrown by Alec Mills. Caratini has been the catcher for the last two no-hitters thrown in MLB, the last in 2020 and the first in 2021. How incredible is this? The fact that Carartini has caught the last two no-hitters is sort of mind boggling.
Tyler Naquin’s hot start
There was a player who previously played for the Cleveland Baseball Club and needed a fresh start somewhere else. That player was Tyler Naquin. Naquin has since signed the Cincinnati Reds and started the 2021 campaign on an absolute tear. Naquin is 7-22 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI, both currently lead all of baseball. This is definitely a case of unsustainable production, but there is some middle ground between the lows and highs he experienced in Cleveland. Naquin’s resurgence, although it is more than likely temporary, is one of the better stories to begin the season.
The trickery of Johnny Cueto
Everyone loves a pitcher who can mess with the timing of a hitter and that is exactly what Johnny Cueto did Friday. Cueto started and stopped multiple times in this one delivery, resulting in C.J. Cron having no chance to make contact. This is just mastery of the art of pitching.
