So we were bored on the Internet over the weekend, which can lead some people down an unruly path. Us? It led us to Ron Necciai, a man we had never heard of but who did something pretty amazing 56 years ago today: He struck out 27 batters in a 9-inning professional game. It came for Bristol in an Appalachian League game. From the NY Times:

Only one batter put the ball in play for Welsh, a groundball out, and a passed ball in the ninth inning allowed Necciai to record a 27th strikeout. Necciai, a right-hander, struck out 24 in his next start — a two-game total of 51 strikeouts. He earned a promotion to the Carolina League and eventually an August trip to the majors with Pittsburgh. Rocket Ron, however, compiled a 1-6 major league record with a 7.08 E.R.A. He was drafted into the Army the next year, suffered an arm injury and never pitched in the majors again.

Yeah, well in the first-ever game we pitched (these were four-inning games, mind you), we struck out the first 11 batters, walked the next one, then picked him off — even though there was no leading off and no stealing bases. True story. Ron Necciai is infinitely cooler than that.

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