The 101-mph fastball Tim Lincecum was able to uncork from his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame was far from the most astonishing fact about his early days in the majors.
He won two Cy Young awards in his first three years in the majors. He led the NL in strikeouts for three straight years. He appeared in four straight All-Star Games.
All before his 28th birthday.
The Freak, they called him.
By this date — June 25 — in 2014, though, Lincecum was simply a pitcher.
Then 30, Lincecum fired a second no-hitter against the Padres, becoming just the second pitcher in baseball history to no-hit the same team twice.