ATLANTA -- Another egregious attack against the heart of the game, this is the ultimate analytics move. After five no-hit innings during Game 3 of World Series, Brian Snitker, the Braves' manager, walked towards Ian Anderson and told him that he would be taking him out before he could meet the Houston Astros' top order. All you nerd-haters, gather 'round -- this one was going to be a great classic.
The man who made that decision was almost the opposite. Snitker, who clearly has no interest in drama and the human condition, was unable to resist the storyline. He did so not due to a spreadsheet, but from a human instinct in his stomach. Anderson didn't get his no-hitter and the world wouldn't get its preferred storyline. There was one simple reason: It didn’t feel right.
"Ian was like, "Are you sure?" Are you sure?'" Snitker agrees. "But I was just like, ‘Ian,’ I was going with my gut right now. Just my eyes, my gut.' It would have been so easy to let him go.
Snitker's disarmingly peopley -- Nobel-level folksy -- can help to remove the sting from his bluntless. He said, "The no-hitter thing," and tossed it out there as if he had just forgotten. He wasn't going pitch a nine-inning no hitter."
Snitker continued to talk, sounding more like someone trying to convince themselves, before finally saying "I don’t know." It could have backfired. It could have backfired, I suppose.
Anderson, a 23 year old with an impassive demeanor, and a history of exceptional postseason pitching, could sense Snitker approaching him from the dugout. Anderson knew why too because Snitker only makes that trip when accompanied with a handshake, a compliment, and that's what Anderson did.
"He walked down, and said, "That's it." Anderson replied, "What a job!" Anderson said, "You feel a bit of, I had more, but it's something you understand and can move forward."
Anderson looked into Snitker’s round, stoic face and tried to plead his case. He said, "I knew he was not going to budge." He said, "We are very lucky to have him. His way of treating us is amazing." He will shake your hand after any outing, no matter how good or not, and that speaks volumes.
To take a two-game lead over the Astros by two games, the Braves won the game 2-0. If that result had been different, then the questions and answers would have taken a different tone. In the top of the eighth, the no-hitter was lost when Tyler Matzek faced Aledmys Diaz, a pinch-hitter who hit a fly ball to short right field that fell at Eddie Rosario's feet.
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This was the end of one of the most polite, if not the most ostentatious, no-hitters in all of sports. There were no memorable defensive plays. Anderson was really, really good. However, he put together five no-hit innings that were some of the most frustrating. Anderson walked three and hit one. He also reached a full count to five batters in five innings. On a rainy and cold night, almost as many of his 76 pitches was strikes as balls. He was credited with two full counts to Jose Altuve (who was leading the sixth inning) and to Alex Bregman (who was third).
It didn't feel like anything was happening until Snitker decided that it was. Anderson was a good sport at the time and shared a laugh with Snitker after the handshake. Matzek was asked to describe the expectant atmosphere that permeated the Braves bullpen as they were preparing to complete the job. He replied, "Well Luke Jackson didn’t know." [A.J.] Minter didn’t know. Minter didn't know. Yes, I did.
Anderson acknowledged that he had a part of himself that wanted to see how far Anderson could go with a no-hitter during a World Series game. Anderson said that he is still processing the experience.
Snitker stated, "I need to win baseball games." "I don’t see a lot. My wife asks me every day, "Did you see that?" Did you see that? It's not something I could see. It's easy to get too involved in the game that you lose sight of the bigger picture. A few years back, the me of old would have asked, "Why am I doing this?" He wasn't going throw a no-hitter by himself, but you know what?
It's the World Series and decisions are made without regard to ratings or storylines. These are business decisions. They don't matter if they come from a series formulas or from the gut of a 66 year-old man.
