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Baseball can be old and cold. It can push you back with overwhelming amounts of tedious products and a bad attitude.
Baseball can also tell magical stories, always finding new ways to keep you coming back.
Tyler Gilbert is the latest example.
At 27, the Diamondbacks pitcher landed a hit on his first career start. This had not happened for 68 years.
This has only happened four times in history, and two of them happened in the 1800s.
The Diamondbacks have been for the most part a disaster in 2021. But this weekend streak against the Padres has been a fine display of challenge.
Gilbert’s performance was also an unexpected and unforgettable reward for those who chose to spend their Saturday night at Chase Field.
It also sparked a philosophical question: How badly do the Diamondbacks want the No.1 overall pick in 2022?
The Diamondbacks are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and are no longer firmly entrenched in Major League Baseball’s basement.
They now have as many wins as the Orioles, who had lost 10 straight games on Sunday.
The Diamondbacks sorely need the sizzle of a No.1 pick, similar to what Deandre Ayton and Kyler Murray have provided to their respective franchises.
They need another centerpiece for the future. But tank games destroy culture. This angers the sports gods. And sometimes it backfires, tearing relationships apart in the process.
The Diamondbacks’ victory on Saturday was Gilbert’s first full game as a professional at all levels, a career where he bounced back more than a little, wearing uniforms for teams like the IronPigs and BlueClaws.
When the 2020 pandemic forced the cancellation of minor league baseball, Gilbert worked as an electrician, helping his father.
There was an element of luck in Saturday’s draw.
Entering the game, Gilbert was on a rigorous throw count (85).
Manager Torey Lovullo increased that number as the game spread, admitting the moving target turned him into a nervous wreck inside the dugout.
Gilbert helped himself dramatically with a performance of three throws in the eighth inning, two of which were track warnings.
According to Statcast, the Padres had 10 hard-hit balls against Gilbert, a big number for a team with zero hits.
Imagine if Lovullo felt compelled to remove Gilbert from the game, in a season where he committed a handful of inexplicable late-game blunders.
There was also an element of innocence. Gilbert’s parents were present.
His receiver on Saturday was Daulton Varsho, who only played 32 games behind the plate.
Their collective inexperience helped forge the depth of the moment, and the look on their respective faces, as they rushed towards each other after the finale, is something you would expect from the “Field of Dreams”.
Gilbert’s performance came following a magical event held at the Field of Dreams in Iowa, a rare weekday regular-season baseball game that drew giant audiences on national television.
In the 21st century, this normally only happens in football.
Gilbert’s non-hitting goal was also the eighth of the season in Major League Baseball, and the abundance of pitcher’s gems seemed to prove a different point.
All of the no-hitting precedents seemed to highlight the lack of hitting and lack of action in an attempt to finally kill a wayward sport.
But that was not the case with Gilbert. His no-hitter felt perfect. It was magical, the kind of baseball that we still talk about from time to time.
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