In 2d start, Buchholz throws a no-hitter

And then last night, he was back in the Show, pitching a 10-0 no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in his second start in the big leagues. At the age of 23. And he told us, "This is what you dream about growing up."

This is what you dream about growing up.

This is what you dream about when you are a little boy in Texas. You dream about making it all the way to the majors. And as you throw a tennis ball at your back porch steps, maybe you narrate the play-by-play and maybe you say, "Two outs in the ninth, all zeros across the board, Buchholz kicks and throws and it's called strike three! A no-hitter for Clay Buchholz!"

This is what you dream about and then it actually happens and guys like Curt Schilling, David Ortiz, and Josh Beckett are pounding you on your head, and the sideline reporter grabs you as you head to the dugout. You stand there and try to explain what it felt like to pitch a no-hitter in your second game in the big leagues. And you don't have any words after your 115th and final pitch.

Here in the Hardball Hub of the Universe we've been commemorating the 40th anniversary of the most important team in Red Sox history. A lot of the Impossible Dreamers/Cardiac Kids from 1967 have come back to wave, sign autographs, and tell lies about Boston baseball's summer of love.

Billy Rohr is one of those guys and New England baseball fans over the age of 50 remember April 14, 1967, when Rohr took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in his first game in the big leagues. The game was played in Yankee Stadium and Whitey Ford was the other pitcher and Jackie Kennedy and her young son were in the stands.

Serving notice that this would be a special year for himself and the Sox, Boston left fielder Carl Yastrzemski made a running, leaping, over-the-shoulder catch of a Tom Tresh drive to start the ninth inning.

Rohr, of course, was denied. Veteran Yankees catcher Elston Howard cracked a clean single to center with two outs and Rohr settled for a 3-0 shutout. Though history eluded him, immortality did not.

Rohr would win only two more games in his major league career, but he'll live forever in Boston baseball lore.

And now there is Buchholz, who wasn't even supposed to be pitching last night.