While many won’t, James Paxton has vivid memories of his first start at Rogers Centre against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The date of that fiasco – Sept. 22, 2014 – is etched in his mind like the Maple Leaf on his left forearm honoring his Canadian heritage.
“Funny story, my first start here in Toronto – I don’t know if you remember that. I do,” Paxton said, grimacing at the recollection.
“I went 1.1 innings I think and gave up nine earned runs. So I think I’ve come quite a ways from that.”
Well, he actually went 2.2 innings and it was only eight earned runs.
But in the cherished moment that unfolded at Rogers Centre on Tuesday night, when the 29-year-old became just the second Canadian in Major League history to throw a no-hitter, who is to quibble?
James Paxton shows off his maple leaf tattoo after throwing a no-hitter against the Blue Jays.Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
In a 5-0 cakewalk over the Blue Jays, the Seattle Mariners lefty was mesmerizing in his dominance. His fastball heated up to close to 100 miles an hour while his curveball darted toward the dirt at home plate, causing fruitless swings from the would-be Toronto hitters all night.
His only blemish that prevented a perfect game was the three walks he issued to go along with seven strikeouts.
“It was probably about the sixth inning,” Paxton said, when asked when he first thought a no-hitter against the Blue Jays was possible. “I looked up and saw there was still no hits up there. And then I kind of forgot about it a little bit, I was just trying to get ahead of guys and stick with my game plan.
“And then probably the eighth inning is when it started becoming a little more real. Six outs away, the eighth inning, we had those balls hit very hard, right at people. It kind of made me laugh on the mound. It was like, man this is just insane.”
And then came the ninth inning after he retired the first two batters in Anthony Alford and then Teoscar Hernandez, and Josh Donaldson remained the only barrier between Paxton and baseball immortality.
“Josh Donaldson, you know,” Paxton said. “I mean, the guy’s pretty good. So I was like I better bring my best stuff. I’m just going to rear back and throw as hard as I can. The fastball is obviously my best pitch – they know it, I know it. And I was like I’m going to let it rip, top of the zone, see what happens.
“And then he smoked that ball to third base and Seager made an amazing play.”
Kyle Seager, the Mariners third baseman, almost folded himself in half to get a glove on the scorched one hopper. He also saved Paxton’s bacon in the seventh when he made a diving stab on a drive by Kevin Pillar.
After cradling the Donaldson blast, Seager threw to first for the easy out and Paxton, arms extended toward the Rogers’ roof, received his jubilant teammates on the mound.
“It almost felt like it was meant to be,” Paxton said, a reference to the great defensive work behind him. “There was just a weird feeling out there.”
James Paxton reacts after throwing a no-hitter against the Blue Jays.Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press
Paxton is not exactly a household name in baseball. He is so under the radar that Baseball-Reference.com, the game’s statistical bible for serious seamheads, lists his hometown simply as Ladner, Canada.
After his no-hitter, those editors may want to note that Ladner is in British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver.
The only other Canadian to throw a no-hitter in MLB history was Toronto’s Dick Fowler back in 1945 as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics.
“Very special,” Paxton said of his inclusion to that select pairing. “I’m honoured to be the second Canadian to throw a no hitter in the big leagues.
“There’s been some great pitchers that have been Canadian that have come through the Major Leagues. And I’m very honored to be the next guy after the first one.”
Not only did Paxton pull it all off in his native country but against a Blue Jays organization that initially drafted him back in 2009 but could not come to terms on a contract agreement.
Paxton reentered the draft and was scooped up by the Mariners in 2010 after playing for an independent league in Grand Prarie, Tex.
“You couldn’t write this stuff,” Paxton said. “Pretty amazing to have it happen against the Blue Jays at home in Canada. Really great.
“I had some family here tonight, I had some friends. It was special to share that with them. And awesome that it was on TV in Ladner, B.C., on Rogers. That’s the only games they get over there so all my friends and family got to watch over there, too.”