MAY/JUNE 2021 ■ 17
TRACKING THE PACK
PACK PICTURE
■ A Gem
When the final out was made in Carlos Rodon's no-
hitter for the Chicago White Sox against the Cleveland
Indians in front of a home crowd on April 14, television
analyst Steve Stone noted he was a "shoelace" away
from a perfect game.
A hit batter (on the toe) with one out in the ninth in-
ning prevented the former Pack ace from what would've
been major league baseball's first perfect game since
2012, but Rodon still became the first former NC State
pitcher to have a no-hitter in the pros. The last one
thrown by an ACC product was Georgia Tech's Kevin
Brown in 1997 for the then-Florida Marlins.
The closest a NC State pitcher had come to a no-no
previously was in 1974, when Mike Caldwell carried
one into the seventh inning for the San Francisco Giants
before Hall of Famer Hank Aaron ended the bid with a
double.
Rodon was the No. 3 overall pick in the first round of
the 2013 MLB Draft and made his debut less than a year
later. Shoulder and elbow injuries, however, limited him
to just 11 total appearances in 2019 and 2020.
— MATT CARTER • PHOTO BY RON VESELY/CHICAGO WHITE SOX
