Driving across Missouri Sunday night, I was riveted to a radio broadcast of a classic baseball game. Boston ace Pedro Martinez and former Red Sox star Roger Clemens dueled one another at Yankee Stadium. In the first eight innings, only one runner reached third, when Boston’s Trot Nixon tripled with one out in the seventh. Clemens responded by striking out the next two hitters to preserve the scoreless tie. Finally, in the ninth, with two outs, Nixon burned Clemens with a two run homer. The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom half, but Pedro persevered, and got the 2-nothing win. We often hear that fans today want to see offense, and they aren’t happy watching a 2-nothing game. I can guarantee you that in the top of the ninth inning, every fan at Yankee Stadium was awed by the scoreless tie they were witnessing. I arrived home during the bottom of the ninth, with the Yankees trying to rally. I raced inside, and turned on the TV, desparate not to miss the finish. I promise you if the score had been 14-12 at the time, I would have gone straight to bed.
