(Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Before I go any further, this will go down as an incredible season for Nola whether he gets to 20 wins or doesn’t. In my lifetime, I have only seen one Phillies pitcher get to 20 wins and that was Roy Halladay in 2010. Halladay’s 2010 campaign remains one of the greatest seasons I’ve ever seen pitched by a pitcher in the major leagues. If you go past Halladay, you would have to go back all the way to 1982 to find a Phillies pitcher who had 20 wins in a season. In 1982, it was the great Steve Carlton who had the last of his five 20 win seasons.
Realistically, Nola still has around 10 or 11 starts left to make this season. He has a very real chance to make it to 20. The man hasn’t lost a game in nearly two months. His last lost was on May 20th against the St. Louis Cardinals. Even a night like last night, where the offense did absolutely nothing for him he still got the win. He took matters into his own hands by hitting a bases clearing double down the line for all three of the Phillies runs. Nola is actually one of the worst pitchers in baseball with the bat. But hey, when you got it you got it.
It’s been that kind of year for Mr. Nola. A year where he has been selected to his first All-Star game. The first in what will be many for this young ace. If the Phillies do I’m fact surprise everyone and make the playoffs this year, best believe it was on his arm. If the Phillies make it by one game, remember back to last nights game.
