Combined No-Hitter — Baseball Bench Coach

About a week ago Shota Imanaga of the Cubs threw seven no-hit innings, combined with two innings of no-hit relief by Chicago relievers Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge, to defeat the Pirates 12-0 at Wrigley Field. It was the first Cubs no-hitter at the old ballpark since Milt Pappas threw one in 1972. While it was the first combined no-hitter in the 2024 season, seven of the fifteen no-hitters pitched since June, 2021, have been combined ones. The days of a complete game, 125 pitch, no-hitter by the starting pitcher seem to be over.

There have been 326 “official” no-hitters in MLB’s history, 283 in the so-called modern era that began in 1901. No-hitters mean simply that, a team has not recorded a hit during the game. That doesn’t mean they haven’t scored; in 25 of these games the no-hit team has managed to push across a run without a hit. In five of those, the no-hit team actually won the game. Like everything in baseball, we’ve seen trends along the way. While there have been exceptions, you see more no-hitters in eras where the pendulum has swung to pitcher dominance. There were five no-hitters in 1968, the “Year of the Pitcher”. From 2002 to 2006 as we neared the end of the Steroid Era, there were only five no-hitters total.

Of course a much more amazing feat is to hurl a perfect game. There have been only 23 of these gems in MLB history, 21 in the modern era. To get credit for one, the pitcher’s defensive team must not allow its opponent to reach base by any means, including catcher’s interference, an uncaught third strike, or a hit batsmen. Bottom line, 27 players must come to the plate, and 27 must go down. And for those of you wondering, a misplayed foul ball that the official scorer might deem an error actually would not count against a perfect game being recorded. That hasn’t happened in a perfect game, but neither has any pitcher ever thrown more than one perfect game. The closest was Tom Browning, a lefthander for the Reds. In September 1988 Browning threw baseball’s 12th perfect game, a victory over the Dodgers where he did not run the count to three balls on any hitter. The next July Browning found the magic again, but this time his perfect game was broken up in the bottom of the ninth inning by the Phillies.

In scouring the list of the 326 no-hitters to date, being a big name, All-Star pitcher does not always equate to having thrown a no-no. Here are some of the names of no-hit pitchers over the last ten years – Chris Heston; Alex Mills; John Means; Wade Miley; Tyler Gilbert; Reid Detmers; and Ronel Blanco. These are not exactly household names. I, of course, need to mention a couple Hall of Fame pitchers on the list of 326. Nolan Ryan holds the all-time record for number of no-hitters, seven, while Sandy Koufax is in second place with four.

One of the more interesting paradoxes for a no-hit pitcher is how he follows his standout performance in the following game. It’s not often a great result. Historically, more often than not the no-hit pitcher follows his no-hitter with a losing effort or no decison. The only time that a no-hitter was followed by the same pitcher’s second one was in June 1938 by the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer. He pitched a June 11 no-hitter against the Boston Bees. On June 15, 1938, he started for Cincinnati against the Dodgers at Ebbetts Field in the first night game ever played there. It was certainly lights out for Brooklyn as Vander Meer threw his second straight no-hitter.

The on-field celebration of a no-hitter is always fun to watch unless you’re in the opposing dugout. Watching the other team celebrate saw tables turn a little over 50 years ago. On April 30, 1969, Cincinnati’s Jim Maloney threw the second no-hitter of his career in a 10-0 win against the Astros. The next night, on May 1, Houston’s Don Wilson also pitched his second career no-hitter in a 4-0 victory over the Reds. It was actually the second time in MLB history that there were no-hitters in consecutive games; the Giants’ Gaylord Perry and the Cardinals’ Ray Washburn did it in 1968.

No-hitters during postseason play are very uncommon, but there have been some memorable exceptions. In 2010 Roy Halladay of the Phillies pitched the 20th perfect game ever in a May 29 regular season win over the Marlins. He followed his perfecto with the second postseason no-hitter ever as Philadelphia downed the Reds 4-0 in Game One of the 2010 NLDS. In the playoff game against Cincinnati Halladay just missed a perfect game, walking one batter. Halladay is the only pitcher to pitch a perfect game and no-hitter in the same season. He doesn’t top Don Larsen though. Larsen will forever be known for the perfect game he threw for the Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series. The photo of his catcher Yogi Berra jumping into Larsen’s arms as the final out was recorded is certainly etched in baseball’s greatest moments.

There are also quirky rules around no-hitters. The Reds’ Jim Maloney could be in the books for three no-hitters except his first one was negated by an MLB rule change. You see, in June 1965 he threw 10 scoreless innings of no-hit ball against the Mets but the lost the game in the eleventh inning on a solo HR. While it was originally deemed a no-hitter, MLB later omitted no-hit games broken up in extra innings. Fast forward to our crazy pandemic rules a few years ago and Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner throwing a no-hitter against Atlanta in an official, seven-inning game. MLB also failed to recognize this one based on a 1991 ruling by Commissioner Fay Vincent that pitchers need to throw at least nine innings for the game to qualify as a no-hitter. Yet, under the 2020 rule changes if a perfect game goes into extra innings and the runner placed on second scores by virtue of two outs (let’s say a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly), the pitcher could be credited with a loss and a perfect game.

One of my fondest memories of being a softball Dad is when my daughter threw a no-hitter in high school yet several members of her team had no idea what that meant. The amusing thing about Shota Imanago pitching in the combined no-hitter a week ago is according to Cubs manager Craig Counsell, “he actually didn’t know he had a no-hitter going at all”. Maybe in a combined no-hitter nowadays, none of us really care to know.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach