An Interstellar No-Hitter

Baseball fans in Birdland and beyond marveled in John Means’ electric performance on May 5, 2021, when he completed the first no-hitter in Orioles history since July 13, 1991.

Eyes were glued to televisions, people remained in their cars to hear the final outs called, and many followed along on social media as he completed the tremendous feat. For dedicated baseball fan Shane Kimbrough, he and his colleagues followed along from a unique location: The International Space Station.

Kimbrough, a Texas native who has called the Atlanta-area home for decades, has been a longtime friend of Orioles Major League Coach Fredi Gonzalez after the two met while Gonzalez was manager of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2016. The two remain in contact regularly, even while Kimbrough, Commander of the NASA SpaceX Crew-2, is on the International Space Station for his third mission to space.

“He was a big Braves fan, so we’ve cultivated this relationship for 10 or 12 years. Every chance he’d get to come and see us, he would, and when we went to Houston, he’d take care of us at [The NASA Johnson Space Center] in the water tanks and stuff,” shared Gonzalez. “His deep roots are with the Atlanta Braves, but he follows us in the American League. It’s fun to keep up with him.”

Although both find themselves in uniquely different professions, both Kimbrough and Means have one commonality: they were (and are) both left-handed pitchers. Kimbrough pitched in college at West Point University in the ‘80s, while Means pitched in college at Fort Scott Community College before transferring to West Virginia University. Nowadays, Kimbrough stays involved in baseball both as a fan and occasionally as a contributor on MLB Network and MLB Network Radio.

“He emailed me and said he watched John Means’ no-hitter, and to pass that along to him,” Gonzalez said. “So, I asked John: ‘You must’ve gotten a lot of people congratulate you for the no-hitter, but have you ever gotten one from space?’”

“I’ve always been really into the stars and planets and stuff, so to have a guy tuning in from that far away was probably the coolest person that reached out,” shared Means. “For him to be able to see the game from up there is pretty cool.”

Many fans will fondly remember where they were watching the historic no hitter, sharing the memories with generations of Oriole fans to come. And for some, like Kimbrough, those recollections will be more unique – and *stellar* than others.