Edwin Jackson's No-Hitter: In Their Own Words

"I'm sure if I had given up a hit there in the third, I would have been out. But I didn't and when my pitch count started getting up there, I just said, I'm not coming out until I give up a hit or a home run."
  -- Edwin Jackson

In a season which has been disappointing in many ways, watching tonight's no-hitter unfold was a marvelous antidote. After the event, a lot of people had a lot to say about the feat - beyond the jump, you can read some of the best quotes from those involved, both on and off the field.

There'll be more on Jackson's no-hitter tomorrow. Trust me on that. :-)

"It’s one of those moments where you’re just caught up in the moment. It’s one of the craziest games I’ve had, especially the game starting off how it did. Not being able to find the strike zone with the fastball. Good thing I could throw the slider for strikes in any count. It just resurrected my game."
  -- Edwin Jackson

"He kept saying, 'I'm fine. I'm not coming out. I'm not coming out. I'm not coming out.'  You do want to make smart decisions, but you do have a chance at history and you don't want to take it away from him. And that's for everybody involved, from the team, to the fans, to anybody that was included in this game. It was the most bizarre no-hitters you'll ever be around."
   -- AJ Hinch

"You've got to give him a lot of credit. He's a horse and a great athlete. He's a great kid and he deserved to do that tonight. Hats off to him; he's a wonderful man."
   -- Rays manager Joe Madden

"After the fifth, I looked up there, and I was like, 'Wow, after all this, there's still no hits?' From then on, I just tried to do what I continued to do. I found a rhythm toward the end, so that helped that I could throw a fastball for strikes and mix in everything else. It's one of those bittersweet feelings. You throw a no-hitter and it's against an ex-team, but at least it's with a crowd that you've had accomplishments with, and you can do it in front of some people who will appreciate it."
   -- Edwin Jackson

"I sat in the same spot on the bench that I sat in previous innings and did kind of everything the same. It was my first one, but that was the attitude I took. It wasn't too tense. I think we were pulling for some pitches that, even if they weren't that close, we were still hoping for him to just keep that pitch count down. He pitched so good, and he's been pitching like a legit No. 1 for the last month. His stuff's been lights-out. I'm happy, and I'm also not surprised, to be honest."
   -- Kelly Johnson

"He battled, man. He competed all night. Today, he didn't have the greatest stuff that he's used to, but he competed and he got it done. I feel real excited about his no-hitter, and you know, what else can you say, man?... "I don't know where we're taking him, but he's taking me wherever it is we're going"
   -- Miguel Montero

"I don't care if it was 199, going on 209, he wasn't coming out of that game. They would've needed security, a lot of it, to get him off that mound. That is the definition of effective wildness."
   -- Adam LaRoche

"There were a lot of great plays, but Miguel, he threw out a guy that steals bases a lot and doesn't get caught too much. That was big, especially pitch-count wise. If I come up and have to face B.J. out of the stretch with a guy on second who can also steal third, it's just one of those things you have to keep in mind. It was a good throw, and it was one of those plays where it definitely saves the game. You've got a man on second, two outs with a guy who can easily get a hit."
   -- Edwin Jackson

"His hardest fastball, I think, was in the ninth inning with all that adrenaline. He eases into the game a little bit. He's tried to get better at that -- earlier in the year it was a major fault, but he's changed that and has gotten into games a little bit better the last couple months. Once he does lock in and find it, it's really top-end stuff. He does that for a while. He was an All-Star last year, which means he really found his rhythm and was able to maintain it."
  -- AJ Hinch

"We got three guys work tonight on the side, so I was kind of kidding that we got three guys up who got their sides in. It's always a tough decision. Obviously he had a high pitch count. The guy's a warrior, and he battles."
   -- pitching coach, Mel Stottlemyre

"It just proves that no one can dictate your future. I've had a lot of people say this and say that, but I've always said that a pen and paper can't dictate my future. Nobody can write anything and predict what can happen in my career. The only person that can dictate that is me. Either I can go out and get the job done, or I can listen to what's being said and stay buried. Or you can fight and find a way to get up."
   -- Edwin Jackson