No-hitter

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In baseball, a no-hitter (also known as a no-hit game, and sometimes called a no-no) refers to a game in which one of the teams prevented the other from getting a hit. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter". Throwing a no-hitter is rare and considered an extraordinary accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff. In most cases in the professional game, no-hitters are accomplished by a single pitcher who throws a complete game.

Because it is possible to reach base without a hit (most commonly via walk or error), the term no-hitter does not imply that the opposing team had no baserunners. Thus, although it is extremely uncommon, it is possible for a pitcher to throw a no-hitter and yet lose the game. The case of a no-hitter in which the other team has not reached base at all is called a perfect game, which is a victory, a shutout, and a no-hitter. In a perfect game, a pitcher or combination of pitchers on the same team will have retired all batters faced during the game.

One of the most common baseball superstitions is that it is bad luck to mention a no-hitter in progress, especially to the pitcher.[1] Some sportscasters observe this taboo, while others have no reservations about mentioning no-hitters before completion. In the age of television, cutaways to commercial breaks often feature a line score, visually informing the viewer of the no-hitter in progress even if the announcer keeps silent about it.

Contents

Note: Records listed herein are up to date through the 2007 regular season and post-season games.

A no-hitter is defined by Major League Baseball thusly: "An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings."[2] By this rule, a pitcher who throws fewer than nine no-hit innings (for example, a no-hitter called on account of rain after seven innings) is not credited with a no-hitter, and neither is a pitcher who throws nine no-hit innings but gives up a hit in extra innings. This rule was instituted by MLB's Committee for Statistical Accuracy in 1991, and resulted in several pitchers who had thrown no-hitters of fewer than nine innings being stripped of credit for an official no-hitter.[3]

In Major League Baseball, no-hitters are rare, occurring about twice a season on average. 255 no-hitters have been thrown in Major League history; only 17 of those were perfect games. Multiple no-hitters have been thrown on the same day twice: Ted Breitenstein and Jim Hughes on April 22, 1898; and Dave Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela on June 29, 1990. The most recent no-hitter was thrown by Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox on September 1, 2007, in his second major league start.

The pitcher who holds the record for the most no-hitters is Nolan Ryan, who threw seven in his long career and was regarded as the undisputed king of no-hitters. His first two came exactly two months apart, while he was with the California Angels: the first on May 15, 1973 and the second on July 15. He won two more with the Angels: September 28, 1974 and June 1, 1975. Ryan threw his fifth no-hitter with the Houston Astros on September 26, 1981, which broke Sandy Koufax's record. His sixth and seventh no-hitters came with the Texas Rangers on June 11, 1990, and May 1, 1991, respectively. When he tossed number seven at age 44, he was also the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter.

The pitcher who holds the record for the longest period between no-hitters is Randy Johnson, who threw a no-hitter as a member of the Seattle Mariners on June 2, 1990 and a perfect game as an Arizona Diamondback on May 18, 2004. The pitcher who holds the record for the shortest time between no-hitters is Johnny Vander Meer, who is the only pitcher in history to throw no-hitters in two consecutive starts, for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938.[4] Twenty-five men in all have thrown more than one no-hitter. Only Nolan Ryan (seven), Sandy Koufax (four), Cy Young (three), Bob Feller (three), and Larry Corcoran (three) have pitched more than two.[5]

There have been nine combined no-hitters; that is, when multiple pitchers collectively throw a no-hitter during a game. The first was on June 23, 1917, with Babe Ruth as the starting pitcher. After walking the first batter of the game, Ruth was ejected for arguing with an umpire. Ernie Shore relieved Ruth; the runner at first was caught attempting to steal second base, and Shore then consecutively retired the next 26 batters without allowing any baserunners. The first, and only, combined extra inning no-hitter to date occurred on July 12, 1997, when the Pittsburgh Pirates' Francisco Cordova (9 innings) and Ricardo Rincon (1 inning) combined to no-hit the Houston Astros, 3-0. The extra inning no-no was capped off by a three run walk-off home run by pinch hitter Mark Smith in the bottom of the tenth inning. The Major League record for pitchers combining to pitch a no-hitter is six, set by the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees on June 11, 2003. The pitchers were Roy Oswalt (the starting pitcher), then relievers Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel, and Billy Wagner.

Only one pitcher, Mike Witt, has thrown a no-hitter as a starter, and also contributed to a no-hitter as a reliever. On September 30, 1984, Witt threw a 1-0 perfect game for the California Angels against the Texas Rangers. Then on April 11, 1990, Witt relieved Mark Langston after 7 innings, pitching the last two innings to get the save in another 1-0 win for the Angels over the Seattle Mariners.

The Cleveland Indians' Bob Feller left the Chicago White Sox hitless in the 1940 season opener on April 16. This remains the only Opening Day no-hitter to date. No-hitters have twice been thrown on the final day of the season: on September 28, 1975, four Oakland Athletics pitchers (Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad, and Rollie Fingers) tossed a combined no-hitter against the California Angels; and on September 30, 1984, Mike Witt of the California Angels pitched a perfect game against the Texas Rangers.

On October 8, 1956, Don Larsen of the New York Yankees became the only person in Major League history to throw a no-hitter during a World Series game. Larsen's victory against the Brooklyn Dodgers was also a perfect game. It remains the only no-hitter in World Series history, and indeed the only such feat in any postseason game. (The only other pitcher to come close to such a feat was the Yankees' Bill Bevens, who came within one out of no-hitting the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 4 of the 1947 World Series, only to lose the game on a pinch-hit double by Cookie Lavagetto.)

A degree of luck is involved in pitching a no-hit game. Many Hall-of-Fame pitchers never pitched a no-hitter, whereas some journeymen or short-career pitchers have struck gold.

The most notorious of the latter is probably Bobo Holloman. In 1953, Holloman pitched a no-hitter for the St. Louis Browns in his first major league start (not his first major league game though, as he had made a few relief appearances earlier in the season). This game would prove to be one of only three major league wins that Holloman achieved, against seven losses, all in 1953. Bill Veeck, then-owner of the Browns, in his autobiography described the 27 outs of Holloman's no-hitter as consisting of hard-hit ground balls, screaming line drives, and deep fly balls.

Going back further, we find an even bigger "no-hit wonder": Bumpus Jones of the Cincinnati Reds holds the distinction of being the only player to throw a no-hitter in his first big-league game, on October 15, 1892. Jones pitched only eight games in the big leagues, finishing with a career win/loss record of 2-4 and a career earned run average of 7.99.

In 1991, Wilson Alvarez of the Chicago White Sox pitched a no-hitter in his second career major league start. During Alvarez's first career start, he allowed three runs on a pair of home runs and did not retire a single batter. Bud Smith of the St. Louis Cardinals threw a no-hitter toward the end of his rookie season (2001); he started the following season with the Cardinals, then was demoted to the minor leagues after a lackluster start to his second season. He never pitched in the majors again and has since retired.

Most recently, on September 1, 2007, Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox pitched a no-hitter in his second career major league start. He threw 115 pitches in a 10-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Buchholz became only the third pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-hitter in his first or second Major League start and the first rookie to do so for the Boston Red Sox.

In all, 21 rookies have pitched a no-hitter since 1901.[6]

On April 23, 1964, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt 45's became the only pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter in nine innings when he was beaten 1-0 by Cincinnati. The winning run was scored by Pete Rose in the top of the ninth inning via an error, groundout, and another error.[7] In 1967, Steve Barber and Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles pitched a combined no-hitter, but lost 2-1 to the Detroit Tigers.[8] Three pitchers – Silver King (1890), Andy Hawkins (1990), and Matt Young (1992) – have lost eight-inning unofficial no-hitters where the home team won the game.[9][10]

A game that is a no-hitter through nine innings may be lost in extra innings. On May 2, 1917, Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitched a hitless, scoreless tie after nine innings – the only time in baseball history that neither team has had a hit in regulation. The Reds got two hits in the top of the tenth inning and scored the winning run. In the bottom of the tenth, Toney retired the side and recorded a ten-inning no-hitter. (The closest any game has come since to having no hits in regulation was in 1965, when Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game and opposing pitcher Bob Hendley of the Cubs gave up only one hit to the Dodgers, in the seventh inning.)

A total of thirteen potential no-hitters have been lost in extra innings; two were perfect games. In 1959, Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched twelve perfect innings before losing the no-hitter and the game to the Milwaukee Braves in the thirteenth inning. Pedro Martínez, then a member of the Montreal Expos, was the last pitcher to lose a no-hitter in the tenth against the San Diego Padres in 1995. Vaughn, Haddix, Martínez, and the other ten pitchers who lost no-hitters in extra innings are not credited with official no-hitters because they did not keep the opponent hitless for the entire course of the game.

Four teams in Major League Baseball have not had a pitcher toss a no-hitter. Two of the four are recent expansion teams: Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998) and Colorado Rockies (1993). The other two are longer established teams. The San Diego Padres (1969) have gone 38 years without a no-hitter, with Chris Young coming within two outs of throwing the first no-hitter in team history on September 22, 2006. Steve Arlin was the closest, losing his no-hit bid with one out to go vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on July 18, 1972.

The team that has been in the league the longest without a no-hitter is the New York Mets, who began play in 1962. Mets' pitchers have thrown 30 one-hitters, and ten pitchers that have played for the Mets have thrown no-hitters for other teams. Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters with all of the three other teams he pitched for over his 27-year career. Seaver threw five one-hitters with the Mets, including three that were no-hitters broken up in the 9th inning. He would finally toss his lone career no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds after being traded from Queens on June 16, 1978. Perhaps as painful, two Mets stars during the 1980s would throw no-hitters for the cross-town New York Yankees in the twilight of their careers: Dwight (Doc) Gooden on May 14, 1996, and David Cone (a perfect game) on July 18, 1999. In fact, Mets' television play-by-play man Gary Cohen recently expressed his frustration with the Mets not having a no-hitter in their history. The Mets' color commentator Ron Darling said during a John Maine start that he had "no-hit stuff." Cohen replied by saying, "no he doesn't, he's a Met." Indeed, in a subsequent start on September 29, 2007 against the Florida Marlins, Maine would come within 4 outs of a no-hitter, as the Mets settled for their 30th one-hitter in a 13-0 victory.

Of the teams that have achieved no-hitters, the longest current "drought" belongs to the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs clustered four of them from three pitchers during 1969-1972, with Milt Pappas having pitched the last one to date, on September 2, 1972. They have not achieved one in the intervening 35 years.

Every modern-era team has suffered at least one no-hitter pitched against them. The team escaping being no-hit for the longest time has been the Chicago Cubs, at 42 years, who were last victims of a no-hitter at the hand of Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965.

Spacious Forbes Field in Pittsburgh went through its entire 62 seasons of use (mid 1909 - mid 1970) without a no-hitter being pitched there.

  1. ^ Gmelch, George (September 2000). Revised version of "Superstition and Ritual in American Baseball" from Elysian Fields Quarterly, Vol. 11, No. 3, 1992, pp. 25-36. McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. Archived from the original on 2007-04-21.
  2. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/about_mlb/rules_regulations.jsp
  3. ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/yearly/yr1991n.shtml
  4. ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/featsjv.shtml
  5. ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_noh1.shtml
  6. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/rare_feats/index.jsp?feature=rookie_no_hitter
  7. ^ http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1964/B04230HOU1964.htm
  8. ^ http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1967/B04301BAL1967.htm
  9. ^ http://www.baseball-almanac.com/pitching/pinohit1.shtml
  10. ^ http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1890#June

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