The Ghost of Dave Stieb Strikes Again

Considering how many times this season the Blue Jays pitching staff have been to throwing no-hitters this year, you’d think Sportsnet would take every precautionary measure to keep it in tact during their broadcast.

Here’s the situation: Shaun Marcum has a no-hitter through six innnings and is coming back out for the seventh inning. Just as Marcum is getting ready to face off against Conor Jackson, Sportsnet flashes an image of Dave Stieb promoting the Dave Stieb bobblehead giveaway day on August 29th.

Immediately following that that graphic, Marcum gives up a first pitch solo home run to Jackson which broke the no-hit bid. Was it a coincidence, or was it a case of the Dave Stieb ghost striking once again?


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Of course, this is all said with tongue-in-cheek because ultimately a pitcher is in control of their own destiny and isn’t subject to ghosts or spirits of Blue Jays past.

That being said, there are just some things you just should not do over the course of a no-hit bid.

Shaun Marcum could have easily been rattled by that home run in the seventh, but he settled down and retired the final nine batters in order to pick up the first complete game of his career.

It may not have been a no-hitter, but a one-hit complete game victory isn’t too shabby either. I’m sure even the ghost of Dave Stieb would approve.

Ian Hunter

Ian has been writing about the Toronto Blue Jays since 2007. He enjoyed the tail-end of the Roy Halladay era and vividly remembers the Alex Rodriguez "mine" incident. He'll also retell the story of Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS to his kids for the next 20 years.

7 thoughts on “The Ghost of Dave Stieb Strikes Again

  • August 17, 2010 at 1:40 pm
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    That's not a jinx, the Blue Jays website having a heading up(the scrolling news main feature) during the 6th that said "Jays' Marcum in No-Hit Bid" was a jinx.

  • August 17, 2010 at 2:16 pm
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    I love the little Stieb looking over Marcum's shoulder!

    Due to not getting Sportsnet One out west! I was forced to check in on Game Day, and I saw that headline that Matt_CC mentioned. I couldn't believe they put that! I don't necessarily believe in jinxing it…but that is definitely pushing the limits!

    I love how these young pitchers are staying composed after giving up a first hit late in the game. It happened a couple of times earlier in the year, and now twice recently. So many times you see a young pitcher get rattled and sometimes end up losing the game after giving up that late hit, but these Jays are showing a lot of fight and composure. I believe an actual no-hitter is soon to come.
    Hope I didn't just jinx them….

  • August 17, 2010 at 3:35 pm
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    Matt, I saw John Lott posted something in Twitter about that headline, but I didn't want to look at it in fear of jinxing it.

    DJaysM, it is a little creepy, isn't it? I heard a lot of folks couldn't catch the game – so it must have been frustrating to watch on GameDay (especially since it's about 10-15 seconds behind).

    You're right – it's easy to just break down after giving up that first hit. In Marcum and Morrow's one-hitters, it was still a very close game so they couldn't afford to let that one hit get to them.

    I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we see a no-hitter by the Jays sometime this season or next season.

  • August 17, 2010 at 4:15 pm
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    I'm buying 20 tickets for Dave Stieb bobblehead day so I can burn them in effigy. Damo knows.

  • August 17, 2010 at 4:50 pm
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    Bob, that's one way to ensure this never happens again! Maybe instead of getting 20 bobbleheads, you should get one for each no-hitter taken into the 6th inning by a Blue Jay from this season (I think that's 7 in total).

    As a bobblehead efficianado, I unfortunately can't join in the ceremony.

  • August 17, 2010 at 7:43 pm
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    Could also have been considered a jinx that Buck Martinez said "Marcum has not given up a hit yet" beginning in the fifth inning. And he said it a lot.

  • August 17, 2010 at 8:43 pm
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    Jeremy, I like how the radio broadcast team tiptoes around it much better than the tv team does. I think Buck needs to brush up on those "Rules for Watching a No-Hitter".

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