Johan Santana’s Illegitimate No-Hitter [NoeBrainer]

New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana pitched an absolute gem against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday evening.  Unfortunately, Johan's no-no involved some controversy. 

Johan Santana pitched a fantastic game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday evening.  The New York Mets were able to beat the Cards 8-0 thanks to a complete game by Johan.  It officially will go down in the record book as a no-hitter.  However, Santana wouldn't have recorded the first no-hitter in Mets history without a poor call by 3rd base umpire Adrian Johnson.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran hit a ball down the 3rd base line in the 6th inning that hit the line.  Beltran's hit kicked up chalk and left an imprint of the ball on the 3rd base line.  It was a fair ball.  3rd base umpire Adrian Johnson incorrectly ruled it to be a foul ball.  There is no counterargument for this point; Johan Santana would not have recorded a no-hitter had it not been for the incorrect call of Adrian Johnson.  Period.

This entire story boils down to nostalgia.  A lot of people are caught up in the nostalgia of the story.  It was the first "no-hitter" in the 51-year history of the Mets.  It was the first "no-hitter" in 8,020 games for the Mets.  It was a pitcher who battled all the way back from shoulder surgery.  It's a great storyline.  It's such a great storyline that people have lost perspective.  They've lost common sense.  If a ball hits the line, it's fair.  Simple.

If this no-hitter wasn't recorded by a franchise seeking its first no-no in team history, people aren't losing all perspective.  If this is a no-hitter recorded by a pitcher who wasn't recovering from shoulder surgery while seeking his first no-hitter, fans aren't losing sight of common sense.  But because the nostalgia of the story is so good, all of a sudden fans are talking about Adrian Johnson's incorrect call as if it doesn't matter.  Sadly, it does.

Brian Noe is the Brand Manager at 104.5 The Team, ESPN Radio in Albany, NY.  Brian also hosts "The Noe Show" weekdays from 1-3pm ET on WTMM.