The NY Mets rookie who debuted with 7 shutout innings and didn’t get a win all year

The 2012 New York Mets were 74-88 with a Cy Young season from R.A. Dickey, no-hitter by Johan Santana, and Matt Harvey rookie campaign highlighting the season. On August 23, an 18th round draft pick made his MLB debut. Collin McHugh took the mound at Citi Field for his first major league game. It was the first of 346 he’d pitch in and one of 127 starts.

Forgotten in time because he wasn’t a highly ranked prospect nor did he stick around in New York for long, McHugh put together a dominant 7-inning debut. There was just one problem. The Mets didn’t score a run.

The Mets offense robbed us of a more memorable rookie debut from Collin McHugh in 2012

I suppose if your name is Collin with two L’s you’d be used to seeing that 12th letter of the alphabet. McHugh certainly was. His Mets record would end up at 0-5. Even after getting traded to the Colorado Rockies, McHugh couldn’t buy a win. He was 0-3 with them in 4 starts during the 2013 season.

McHugh would end up with a 71-47 record which is astonishing considering how it started 0-8. He found success with the Houston Astros beginning in 2014 and pitched in a combination of roles through 2023.

In his MLB debut, all of the signs were there of him being a capable major league pitcher.

After a leadoff double, McHugh recorded his first out on a sacrifice bunt. He proceeded to strike out the next two hitters. No harm done.

A leadoff single in the third was the only other hit he’d allow on the day. He’d walk another, but managed to stay out of trouble.

The same was true of the Rockies pitchers. They used five different pitchers and held the Mets to 7 hits and no runs. This was a Mets lineup featuring Jordany Valdespin leading off and Scott Hairston in the five-hole. While they had decent seasons for part-time players, they were a core part of a lineup that didn’t pack a whole lot of punch.

A leadoff triple followed by a single in the 8th broke the 0-0 tie. The day was ruined by Bobby Parnell, possibly the team’s most trusted reliever that season.

Mets history is filled with strong pitching performances with a lack of run support. McHugh learned this immediately. In fact, the Mets wouldn’t win a single game he pitched in for the remainder of the year in 8 total appearances. They lost the 3 games he pitched in 2013, too. Finally, on September 16 as a member of the Rockies, McHugh pitched in a game his team won. Of course, it was a no-decision despite 5 innings of 1-run ball.

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