In case you missed it, R.A. Dickey is now the biggest story in professional sports. Or will be, if the NBA playoffs ever end and Dickey makes one more great start. That will happen, when you throw consecutive one-hitters and establish yourself as the most dominant performer in your game. From David Schoenfield (via ESPN.com):
Schoenfield: Dickey’s On Some Kind Of Run
But Dickey has gone to another level, becoming the first pitcher to allow no earned runs and strike out at least eight batters in five consecutive starts. He joined Stieb as one of 10 pitchers since 1900 to allow one hits or fewer in consecutive starts. Over his last six starts, Dickey is 6-0 with a 0.18 ERA (one earned in 48 2/3 innings), 63 strikeouts, five walks and a .131 average allowed.
It just goes on from there. Before his last couple of starts, it made perfect sense to compare Dickey’s hot stretch to those of other knuckleball pitchers. Well, he’s now transcended such comparisons. Now he’s obviously pitched better over his last six or seven starts than any knuckleballer’s ever pitched over six or seven starts.
Now we get to start comparing his run to the best stretches, period.
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