Without Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles, with a bruised Andrew Jones and a barely back Chipper Jones, with the oft-injured JD Drew and the positively ancient Julio Franco in the lineup, along with some lesser names, Big Unit didn’t vanguish Murderer’s Row.
But that’s usually the case with no hitters. There are always big hitters missing from the lineup, or bad teams on the field. And it doesn’t diminish the achievement one bit.
One wonders about sending Eddie Perez to hit for Mike Hampton (and one also says: This is the best right-handed pinch hitter you’ve got?). Career wise Perez’s OPS has been .79 of league average, while Hampton’s has been .68. I guess I’m with Bobby Cox on that one.