Tangentially Related

Brad Holman was the pitching coach of the Timber Rattlers from 2002-2005. His brother is Brian Holman and that is about all the hook I need to put up a post about this story by Larry Stone.

Losing a perfect game was tough — but Brian Holman's been through tougher

Whenever he does speaking engagements, Brian Holman often reflects on the topic of overcoming failure. As an object lesson, he begins by showing a video of the final inning of the Mariners' game in Oakland on April 20, 1990 — 20 years ago Tuesday.

That game, one of the most famous in Mariners history — infamous might be more accurate — is Holman's calling card, the prime reason he is remembered for a four-year major-league career filled with considerable promise, but cut short by a series of shoulder injuries.

It's all there on the video — Holman beginning the inning by striking out Felix Jose, then getting Walt Weiss to ground out to second baseman Harold Reynolds.

That made it 26 straight batters retired by Holman, putting him one more out from baseball immortality. The Oakland crowd of 44,911 was on its feet, roaring for the opposing pitcher. If he could just get out pinch-hitter Ken Phelps, who was batting for Mike Gallego, Holman would become the 13th pitcher in history to throw a perfect game, just the second to do so against the defending World Series champion.

Time and yearning hasn't changed the ending. Every time, Holman watches with the rest of the audience as Phelps, a former Mariner who grew up in Seattle and starred at Ingraham High School, unloads on Holman's first pitch and deposits it over the right-field wall at the Oakland Coliseum.

My favorite quote from the article is:

"About 4 in the morning, I stood up in my hotel room and yelled as loud as I could, "You've got to be kidding me!' " Holman said.

But, the article isn't just about the near-perfection. It's about Ken Phelps, Seinfeld, and things that are much tougher to deal with than a almost making baseball history.

Very well worth the time today.