[BirdWatcher]

Apparently it took something pretty extreme to get me to post about the W.P. Kinsella League again, but the Denver Brewers first no-hitter, which was also a Perfect Game, in history qualifies.

So for those of you who have followed along with the WPK and the Denver Brewers in the past, here are a few updates, starting with the Perfecto. And for anyone unfamiliar with the back story here, you can find most anything you would wish to know (and so much you probably wouldn't) in the links below in my signature.

Jim Atwell's Perfecto No-No:





The Brewers staff ace, Jim Atwell, the reigning MGL (Moonlight Graham League, for the uninitiated) Pitcher of the Year, had hurled a pair of 1-hitters in his big league career but yesterday he tossed the very first no-hitter in franchise history. And with solid defense behind him and having not allowed a single base runner, he also threw the 4th Perfect Game in WPK history. As with pretty much every no-hitter, there was at least one moment in the game when a defender made a catch on a ball that looked like it was going to land safely to spoil things. In this case it was 2-time reigning MGL MVP right fielder Antonio Acuna who made a diving catch in the late innings to preserve the perfect game.
The Denver Brewers had been on the wrong end of 3 no-hitters in their history, including being the victims in Mike Hiatt's 2nd no-hitter of his career, a Perfect Game on July 15th of 1972.

This was the 4th no-hitter thrown in the WPK this season, tying 1972 for most in a single season. The upstart Portland Wild Things hurled the first two of the 1981 season: Matt Jenkins, a 25-year old lefty who isn't considered anything special but who does possess a decent 6-pitch arsenal (including an elite changeup and circle change), no-hit the Montreal Royals in his third start of the season, while his much more celebrated staff mate Joe Barbour, threw the second no-hitter of his still young career on August 1st. Barbour, the Wild Things team captain and a strong candidate for this year's Pitcher of the Year award, became just the second pitcher in league history to have multiple no-hitters, joining Mike Hiatt, who also has 2 career no-hitters. Then, just a few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Mud Hens 24-year old lefty Ron Carmouche no-hit the Houston Cavaliers. Carmouche pitched mostly out of the bullpen in his rookie season of 1980 and has gone 14-10 with a 3.03 ERA as a full-time member of the rotation this season. With a bit more polishing of his change-up, Carmouche has the potential to be one of the best young hurlers in the game but there are questions about his durability profile.