No no's — Baseball Bench Coach

No! No! No! Say that again. There have been six no-hitters already in the first two months of the season. Joe Musgrove (Padres), Carlos Rodon (White Sox), John Means (Orioles), Wade Miley (Reds), Spencer Turnbull (Tigers), and Corey Kluber (Yankees) all have entered the record books with the first no-hitter of their careers. But here’s the crazy part. The MLB record for a season is seven (in 1990, 1991, 2012, and 2015), so the baseball world is well on its way to adding another chapter to “2021: Year of the Pitcher Revisited”. There’s been much talk about whether too many No-no’s means ho hum, it’s just a sign of baseball’s problem with the lack of hitting. I have never witnessed an MLB no-hitter in person, so count me on the side of excited fans looking for more.

Through yesterday’s games there have been 311 “official” no-hitters in MLB’s history, 268 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. But no matter what era you pitch one in, it’s a great feat.

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. While I couldn’t find that has happened in a perfect game, I do know that no pitcher has ever thrown more than one perfect game. The closest was Reds’ lefthander Tom Browning. 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 311 no-hitters to date, being a big name, All-Star pitcher does not always equate to having thrown a No-no. Indeed, the first five 2021 no-hit pitchers were not exactly household names – Musgrove, Rodon, Means, Miley, and Turnbull – with only two All-Star appearances among them. Spencer Turnbull, the Tigers righthander who recorded the fifth one of the year on May 18 against Seattle, was best known before that night for leading the major leagues in losses in 2019 with a less than impressive 3-17 record. On the next night, however, two-time AL Cy Young Corey Kluber, now with the Yankees, pitched the sixth one of the season, defeating the Rangers. I certainly need to mention a couple Hall of Fame pitchers on the list of 311. 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. Of the six 2021 gems on only one occasion did the pitcher win the next game, Carlos Rodon’s April 19th 5-inning outing over Cleveland. Following Corey Kluber’s no-hitter two weeks ago, he lasted only 3 innings and took the loss this past week against Toronto. After the game the Yanks announced that Kluber would go on the IL and miss two months with shoulder issues. The only time that a no-hitter was followed by the same pitcher’s second one was in 1938 by the Reds’ Johnny Vander Meer. He pitched a June 11, 1938 no-hitter against the Boston Bees. Four nights later 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. Crazily, three teams this season, the Rangers, Mariners, and Indians, have been on the wrong side of a no-hitter. It’s the first time in MLB history that three teams have been no-hit twice. 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 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 the Phillies’ Roy Halladay pitched the 20th perfect game ever in a 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 and Arizona’s Madison Bumgarner throwing a no-hitter against Atlanta last month 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. Are you confused yet?

One of my fond memories of being a softball Dad is when my daughter threw a no-hitter yet a few members of her team had no idea what that meant. Perhaps, that’s where we are now. While no-hitters seem to be commonplace (of the 21 complete games pitched in the MLB this year, six have been No-no’s), there’s always an air of excitement about them. Are they good for the game? I think so. Anything that adds interest is good for the game.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach