I just watched my first no-hitter, only one critique

[uruguru]

I've simmed no-hitters before (even once had a sim with back-to-back no-hitters by Ken Forsch). However, I am now playing a sim where I one-pitch every play.

In my first season, I had two pitchers take a no-hitter into the 9th and both lost it with one out. Gut wrenching!

In my second season with my team still struggling, Phil Niekro took a no-hitter into the 9th right before the All-Star break. He finished all 3 hitters and we won, 5-1. The only real blemish in the game was a sudden spurt of wildness in the 7th when he walked the bases loaded after 2 outs, and then wild pitched a run in. Other than that inning, he faced the minimum.

The only other batter to reach was Gordy Coleman on a 1-out error by 2B Joe Morgan, but then he was immediately taken care of when Leo Cardenas hit into a 1-6-3 double play.

This was the first OOTP no-hitter I watched first-hand and it was great! The only critique I have is that there was no on-field celebration at the end. I was expecting that, lol.

I did attend Dierker's no-hitter in real life and my strongest memory of that game is just the utter chaos and joy in the 9th inning.

[uruguru]

ok, I promised myself that I would do this for big games like no-hitters. I know there have been discussions about ChatGPT doing game recaps, so if anyone wants to see what it can do, below is the official recap of the game. It's just a tad flowery for my tastes, but still nice. Keep in mind that the quality of ChatGPT's output is directly correlated to the quality of the prompt (which I will include at the end)

ChatGPT only made one error in its recap, and it also correctly inserted Cincy manager Fred Hutchinson without prompting from me.


Phil Niekro Throws No-Hitter as Astros Stun Reds in 5-1 Victory

Houston, TX — In a Fourth of July spectacle for the ages, 24-year-old knuckleballer Phil Niekro made history at Harris County Stadium by pitching a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, leading the Houston Astros to a stunning 5-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader.

Coming off a heartbreaking near-miss last season when Niekro lost a no-hitter with just two outs remaining, the young pitcher was determined not to let history repeat itself. With 13,280 Astros fans on their feet, Niekro delivered a masterclass in resilience and precision, etching his name into the annals of baseball lore.

The Astros, struggling through a challenging season and sitting in ninth place with a 33-51 record, shocked the league-leading Reds early in the game. The first inning saw Rusty Staub blast a two-out, three-run homer after Rico Carty singled and Lee May walked. Houston's early 3-0 lead sent a message to Cincinnati that they weren't going down without a fight.

In the third inning, Lee May tripled in Joe Morgan, extending the Astros' lead to 4-0. The crowd roared with approval as their young team showed no fear against a Reds squad 21.5 games ahead of them in the standings.

Meanwhile, Niekro was in complete control on the mound. He retired the first 13 batters he faced, his knuckleball dancing unpredictably in the hot July air. The perfect game bid was lost in the fifth inning when an error by Joe Morgan allowed Gordy Coleman to reach first, but the Reds still couldn't find a way to solve Niekro. An inning-ending double play kept the no-hitter intact and the momentum firmly in Houston’s favor.

The Astros tacked on another run in the fifth, thanks to a run-scoring single by Rico Carty after three consecutive hits. The lead was now 5-0, and the Reds looked overmatched.

Niekro hit a rough patch in the seventh inning, walking three straight batters to load the bases. A wild pitch brought in the Reds' only run of the game, cutting the lead to 5-1, but Niekro quickly regained his composure. He forced Leo Cardenas into a groundout to escape further damage, preserving both the no-hitter and Houston’s lead.

The final two innings saw Niekro return to his earlier dominance, retiring six consecutive batters. The game ended in dramatic fashion with Reds slugger Frank Robinson grounding out to third base, sealing Niekro's place in history.

After the game, Niekro was mobbed by his teammates and cheered by the home crowd. Reflecting on his performance, Niekro said, "Last year’s game against the Reds was always in the back of my mind. Coming so close and losing it, it really drove me today. This one’s for the fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs. I couldn’t have done it without their support."

Astros manager Jerry Hilsmeier was equally effusive in his praise. "Phil pitched the game of his life out there," said Hilsmeier. "We’ve had our struggles this season, but today showed what this young team is capable of. To do it against a team like Cincinnati, the best in the league, it’s just incredible."

Reds manager Fred Hutchinson was gracious in defeat, tipping his cap to Niekro. "He was unhittable today," said Hutchinson. "We had a few chances, but he shut us down when it counted. You have to respect a performance like that."

With the win, the Astros may still be far from contention, but for one game, they reminded everyone that anything can happen in baseball. As Niekro walked off the mound, ball in hand and a smile on his face, he knew he had just pitched himself into the history books.

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Here is the prompt I gave. I tried to include any relevant context I could since ChatGPT otherwise had no idea what was going on. I don't think it would work well if you just cut & pasted a game log into it.

After asking if it would help with a fictional game recap, I gave it this.

ok, it's the 1963 Houston Astros playing the Cincinnati Reds in the first game of a July 4th doubleheader in Harris County Stadium. 13280 Astros fans are in attendance. The Astros are a young team and not that good, entering the game in 9th place (out of 10 teams) with a 33-51 record. The Reds, however, are in 1st place with a 54-29 record. They lead both the Milwaukee Braves and San Francisco Giants by 3 games, and are 21.5 games ahead of the Astros.

On the mound for Houston is 24-year-old knuckleballer Phil Niekro, who entered the game with an 8-5 record and 3.59 ERA. Pitching for the Reds is Jim Maloney, who entered with a 6-6 record and a 3.41 ERA.

In this game, Phil Niekro will pitch a no-hitter so that should be the focus of the story. Of note is that Niekro came within two outs of a no-hitter last season (1962) on August 8th. That game was also against the Reds and was in Houston. Reds third baseman Gene Freese broke up that no-hitter with a home run in the 9th in a game that the Reds would go on to win in 12 innings.

In this game, the Astros struck early when right fielder Rusty Staub hit a two-out home run in the 1st inning after a single by Rico Carty and a walk to Lee May. They increased their lead to 4-0 in the 3rd when Lee May tripled home Joe Morgan.

Niekro was perfect until the Reds' left fielder Gordy Coleman reached first with 1 out in the 5th inning on a Joe Morgan error. He was erased when Leo Cardenas then hit into an inning-ending double play.

The Astros extended their lead to 5-0 with three consecutive hits to start the 5th inning, culminating with a run-scoring single by Rico Carty.

No Cincy batters reached base again until there were two outs in the 7th. Niekro suddenly had a spate of wildness, walking three consecutive batters to load the bases before uncorking a run-scoring wild pitch. He then retired Leo Cardenas to end the inning.

Niekro then retired the side in order for the final two innings, with slugger Frank Robinson making the final out of the game with a ground out to third base.

A no-hitter is a big sports story! Please include relevant quotes from players and manager Jerry Hilsmeier.

[LansdowneSt]

If you have not tried it, I've been able to open a box score or game summary log in html, copy it and paste it into Chat GPT. I was worried the box score would lose its formatting and be gibberish but it got everything correct from it. So, something you can add to your prompt, just say "And here is the box score" and then next prompt, "Here is the game log". That should give it even more to work with.

[uruguru]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

If you have not tried it, I've been able to open a box score or game summary log in html, copy it and paste it into Chat GPT. I was worried the box score would lose its formatting and be gibberish but it got everything correct from it. So, something you can add to your prompt, just say "And here is the box score" and then next prompt, "Here is the game log". That should give it even more to work with.

Interesting. I tried a game log a long time ago and it couldn't handle it. Maybe it's better now. And to be clear, you pasted in the HTML source?


Either way, with a no-hitter it was easy enough to narrate all of the scoring plays and then let ChatGPT sort it out.

edit: I just tried giving it the text for the pbp logs (the html source was too long). It broke ChatGPT. The AI gave me an accurate recounting of the logs, indicating that it could parse them. Then when I asked it to rewrite the original story and incorporate the pbp where necessary, it fabricated a completely new game story against the Mets on a different date with historical players (instead of the OOTP rosters). Bonkers!