R.A. Dickey: No hitter on appeal "would be a little bit cheap"

R.A. Dickey said that being awarded a no-hitter on an appeal would be "cheap." (J. Meric/Getty Images)

R.A. Dickey, the New York Mets pitcher who threw a "one-hitter" Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, said that being awarded a no-hitter after winning an appeal "would be a little bit cheap," in his Thursday conversation with Newsday's David Lennon:

"It would be weird," Dickey said Thursday morning. "I don't know if it would be quite as satisfying. I think the asterisk beside the no-hitter would get more attention than the no-hitter, you know?

"Plus, you're not pitching the eighth, ninth inning with the pressure of a no-hitter going. It would be a little bit cheap. But, for the integrity of the game, I think it's worthy of a review, just to make sure."

"Part of me would love a no-hitter, regardless of how you get it," Dickey said. "It's still a no-hitter. And then a part of me thinks it would be cheap. So which part wins out? Ask me [Friday]. I don't know."

The Mets said they will appeal the MLB's decision to count Dickey's game as a one-hitter, claiming the single hit by the Ray's B. J. Upton in the first inning should have been scored as an error because it bounced off the hand of Mets third-basemen David Wright. The decision from the MLB is expected on Friday and if reversed would award Dickey the no-hitter.

According to Lennon, Mets manager Terry Collins quantified the chance of the MLB reversing the decision at less than five-percent.

"This is a special moment for R.A. Dickey, so we'll give it a shot," Collins said. "If we don't get it, we don't get it. It's not a reflection on David. In my book, he's as good a third baseman in this game. You get so used to him making all the plays that when he doesn't make one, [you think] that must have been an error."

Wright's take on the whole situation is that it's awkward for a team to argue that its own player committed an error:

"I guess that's not an ideal situation," Wright said. "That's their decision. It's a little awkward when the team wants an error on its own player. Usually you're trying to appeal to do the reversal of that. It is what it is. It would be a lot more difficult for me if I thought there was something else I could do. But I did everything I possibly could. The result is what it is."

Footage of the play in question can be seen here: