Brad Lidge participant of 2003 Major League Baseball season
2003–04
In 2003, Lidge was the winning pitcher in the Astros' historic six-pitcher tandem which no-hit the New York Yankees on June 11. That year, Lidge was voted Astros Rookie of the Year by the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA.Following the trades of Billy Wagner in the 2003 off-season and Octavio Dotel in the summer of 2004, the Astros moved Lidge from setup man to closer. He set a new National League record for strikeouts by a reliever with 157, passing Goose Gossage's total of 151 set in 1977. The mark is third all-time for relievers, behind Dick Radatz's 181 in 1964, and Mark Eichhorn's 166 in 1986. In the 2004 season, hitters swung and missed at Lidge's strikes almost 42% of the time; for balls out of the strike zone, batters missed more than 70% of the time. Baseball writer Joe Posnanski noted, "I have no doubt that Brad Lidge, that one year, was one of the most unhittable pitchers in the history of baseball."