Michael King’s 15-year-old tweet is back in rotation after the San Diego Padres righty carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, an 8-0 shutout of the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, Sept. 29, as first reported by ClutchPoints.
The tweet, posted back in July 2011, is pure confidence: “I had a dream i was king…i woke up still #king.”
Padres fans ran it right back after the gem at Petco Park. One reply simply read, “2026, STILL KING.”
The bats gave King all the cushion he needed. Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a homer, the first leadoff home run in Padres playoff history, and Manny Machado went deep in the same inning.
And San Diego didn’t let up. The Padres finished the sweep with a 4-1 win in Game 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 30, sending the Cubs home, per Sports Illustrated. Nick Pivetta set the tone early, pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets smacked a two-run homer in the fourth, and Mason Miller closed it out.
The IAHHM Take
This is the second time that tweet has gone viral in October. In 2024, King opened his playoff career by shutting down the Atlanta Braves in a Wild Card opener, becoming the first pitcher ever to post at least 12 strikeouts without allowing a run or a walk in his postseason debut.
Old tweets usually come back to haunt people. King’s keeps coming back to crown him. That’s the kind of energy hip hop has always respected: say it early, then live up to it.
It’s also sweet revenge for San Diego. The Cubs knocked the Padres out in last year’s Wild Card round, and this time the Padres held Chicago to a single run across two games.
Next up is the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS, with Game 1 set for Saturday, Oct. 3, in Milwaukee. If King gets the ball in that series, expect the timeline to be ready.
Is King the most dangerous October arm in the National League right now, or are the Brewers about to dethrone him?
Related on IAHHM: Max Fried Gets Real After Yankees Knock Red Sox Out of the Playoffs
Source: ClutchPoints, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report
