St. Louis, MO -

On August 24, 2004, Cincinnati Reds’ pitcher Rich Hardin tossed a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hardin struck out 9 batters, walking only 4.

BNN sports reporter Jaque Strappe interviewed the bewildered St. Louis Cardinal manager. When asked what happened to the Cardinal hitters, the manager replied, “I’m as confused as a vericose vein on a wooden leg about what happened out there tonight!” Undecided

New Cincinnati general manager, Bob Snurr, was well pleased with the performance. “Certainly you can see the young pitching talent this team has. Rich is the main building block of this staff. At age 22, we hope to have him around for quite sometime in a Reds uniform.” Grin

Hardin is 14-6 with a 3.21 ERA this year. In three years with Cincinnati, Hardin has posted a 32-21 record and a 3.19 ERA. He is part of a youth movement that the Reds front office desires to bring the team up from the cellar of the National League.

“Our plans seem to be working,” says Snurr. “We are no longer near the bottom of our division and are in the hunt for the NL wild card with plenty of games remaining. Our first goal is to win our division. We believe that we have the solid building blocks to do so within the next year or two.”