Matt Garza, 27 Batters, and the Power of the Goatee
By Bruce Reynolds
St. Petersburg, FL
From 2008 to 2010, Matt Garza was a pitcher for the Rays. He played a significant role in the World Series run as the ALCS MVP. On July 26, 2010, he became—and still is—the only pitcher in Rays history to pitch a no-hitter in a nine-inning game. What a fun game to watch. He walked one batter, who was erased on a double play. In his no-hitter, Garza only faced the minimum of 27 batters.
Garza had a goatee, which gave him a distinctive look. One evening before the game he was set to pitch, a season ticket holder came up to me. He had glued a small goatee on his chin in honor of Garza; it was kind of funny. He told me that he had this idea of wearing it every time Garza would pitch. As a matter of fact, he thought it was such a great idea that he wanted his girlfriend to wear one as well when they came to the game. Guess what… she did not think it was as great of an idea as he did. She refused but told him to give the extra goatee to Bruce—he’ll wear anything. (Ahh, nice to have a reputation among fans at the ballpark.)
About Bruce Reynolds
Fan host (usher) for 16 seasons; author of the upcoming book, There Is No Place Like Dome. Visit thereisnoplacelikedome.com for more book info.