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In baseball, a no-hit game (familiarly known as a no-hitter, and sometimes called a no-no for "no hits no runs") refers to a contest in which at least one of the teams has prevented the other from getting an official hit during the entire length of the game, which must be at least 9 innings (27 outs). A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter." The achievement of a no-hitter is rare and considered to be 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. The most recent major league no-hitter was achieved by Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox against the Texas Rangers on April 18, 2007.

Labeling a game as a no-hitter does not imply that the opposing team has not reached base, since it is quite possible to reach base without a hit. Thus a no-hitter does not imply a shutout, and although it is extremely uncommon, it is possible for a pitcher to throw a no-hitter and yet lose the game (see Ken Johnson and Andy Hawkins). The special case of a no-hitter in which the other team has not reached base at all (in which a pitcher pitches a complete game that lasts a minimum of nine innings) is called a perfect game. A perfect game has been defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a complete game victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposition player reaches first base. Thus a perfect game is a shutout, a victory, and also a no-hitter. In a perfect game a pitcher will have retired all twenty-seven batters he has faced.

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.^[2] Mark Buehrle, in his 18 April 2007 no-hitter, went against this tradition and talked freely to his teammates about the ongoing no-hitter.^[3]

No-hitters in Major League Baseball

Records

In Major League Baseball, no-hitters are rare, occurring about twice a season on average. About 233 no-hitters have been thrown in major league history. Only 17 of those 233 were perfect games. On June 29, 1990, two no-hitters were thrown on the same day–the first time this had ever occurred. Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays early in the evening; hours later, Los Angeles Dodger Fernando Valenzuela pitched his no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals.

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. He 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. At age 44 when he tossed #7, he was also the oldest pitcher to toss 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.

Combined no-hitters

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. For a long time Major League Baseball actually recognized Shore's feat as a perfect game as he technically achieved 27 consecutive outs with no batter reaching base (the runner caught stealing is counted as being an "out"), but stricter perfect game definitions established after 1990 (see more below) retracted this. 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. The Yankees had been the team who had gone the longest without a no-hitter thrown against them; they were last "no-hit" in 1958 by Hoyt Wilhelm, a career relief pitcher making a rare start.

Opening Day and the post-season

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. On the other side of the coin, in 1984 Mike Witt of the California Angels pitched a perfect game against the Texas Rangers on the final day of the regular season: September 30. To date, this remains the only no-hitter pitched on the final day of a regular season.

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.)

Rookie no-hitters

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 strike gold. The most notorious of the latter is probably Bobo Holloman.

In 1953, Bobo Holloman of the St. Louis Browns pitched a no-hitter 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.

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 didn't retire a single batter. In all, 19 rookies have pitched a no-hitter, the most recent being Anibal Sanchez of the Florida Marlins in 2006.

Pitched a no-hitter and lost

On April 23, 1964, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt 45's (they became the Houston Astros the next season) became the only pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter in nine innings when he was beaten 1-0 by Cincinnati. On July 1, 1990, Andy Hawkins of the New York Yankees lost 4-0, while pitching 8 innings of no-hit ball against the Chicago White Sox. The runs scored as a result of two walks, a misplayed ground ball, and two consecutive errors on fly balls, all of which combined to rob Hawkins of his no-hitter and the Yankees of the game, by a score of 4-0. In 1992, Matt Young of the Boston Red Sox lost an eight-inning no-hitter by a 2-1 score. In all of the 8-inning no-hit losses, the home team did not bat in the 9th, as it already had the lead, and so the visiting team did not pitch a 9th inning.

A game that is a no-hitter through 9 innings may be lost in extra innings. In 1917, Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and Hippo Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitched a hitless, scoreless tie after 9 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 10-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; notably, the winning run in this 1-0 game was scored in the fifth inning, and the game's only hit came in the seventh). 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 13th. Pedro Martínez, then a member of the Montreal Expos, was the last pitcher to lose a no-hitter in the 10th inning (via a Bip Roberts double) against the San Diego Padres in 1995. Like Haddix, he too had a perfect game after nine innings.

In 1967, Steve Barber and Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles pitched a combined no-hitter, but lost 2-1 to the Detroit Tigers.

Tighter definition of 1990

After an unprecedented nine no-hitters in 1990, and on the way to eight in 1991, including one in regulation broken up in extra innings, one ended early because of weather, and one where the losing pitcher gave up no hits, but errors caused the team to lose, and the home side did not have to bat, Major League Baseball changed the rules so that only no-hit games of nine or more full innings ending with no hits are officially recognized. No-hitters and perfect games that go into extra innings because the score is tied at the end of regulation play (including 0-0 ties) are only recognized if the game finishes without it being broken up. Rain-shortened "official game" no-hitters are also no longer recognized (though they always had an "asterisk" in the record books). As a result, Ken Johnson's 9-inning no-hit loss is the only one that is still recognized in the official baseball record books; the other cases noted above are simply "footnotes" in baseball trivia books and websites (including the Elias Sports Bureau). This ruling, which has caused some no-hitters up to 100 years old to be "reversed", has been quite controversial, especially in the case of the two perfect games that were ended in extra innings and technically fit the "9 inning" definition. The 1917 "double no-hitter" by both sides is not officially recognized anymore either; only Fred Toney's 10-inning feat in that game is officially considered a no-hitter.

References

^ Gmelch, George (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. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^ Scully, Vin (1986), "1965: Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Chicago Cubs 0: The radio account of the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's perfect game", The Baseball Reader, New York: McGraw Hill, pp. 375–378, ISBN 0-07-019532-3.
^ "Buehrle ignored no-hitter superstition".

External links

[1] Gmelch, George (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. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

[2] Scully, Vin (1986), "1965: Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Chicago Cubs 0: The radio account of the ninth inning of Sandy Koufax's perfect game", The Baseball Reader, New York: McGraw Hill, pp. 375–378, ISBN 0-07-019532-3.

[3] "Buehrle ignored no-hitter superstition".

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 ===Tighter definition of 1990===
 After an unprecedented nine no-hitters in 1990, and on the way to eight in 1991, including one in regulation broken up in extra innings, one ended early because of weather, and one where the losing pitcher gave up no hits, but errors caused the team to lose, and the home side did not have to bat, Major League Baseball changed the rules so that only no-hit games of nine or more full innings ending with no hits are officially recognized. No-hitters and perfect games that go into extra innings because the score is tied at the end of regulation play (including 0-0 ties) are only recognized if the game finishes without it being broken up.  Rain-shortened "official game" no-hitters are also no longer recognized (though they always had an "[[asterisk]]" in the record books). As a result, [[Ken Johnson]]'s 9-inning no-hit loss is the only one that is still recognized in the official baseball record books; the other cases noted above are simply "footnotes" in baseball trivia books and websites (including the Elias Sports Bureau). This ruling, which has caused some no-hitters up to 100 years old to be "reversed", has been quite controversial, especially in the case of the two perfect games that were ended in extra innings and technically fit the "9 inning" definition. The [[1917 in baseball|1917]] "double no-hitter" by both sides is not officially recognized anymore either; only [[Fred Toney]]'s 10-inning feat in that game is officially considered a no-hitter.
-===Trivia===
-[[Mike Scott (baseball)|Mike Scott]] of the [[Houston Astros]] threw a no-hitter against the [[San Francisco Giants]] on [[September 25]], [[1986 in baseball|1986]]; the victory also clinched the [[National League West]] title for the Astros, the only such coincidence thus far.  In the first game of a double header on September 28, 1951, [[Allie Reynolds]] of the [[New York Yankees]] pitched a no-hitter against the [[Boston Red Sox]] which clinched a tie for the American League pennant (the pennant was clinched outright in the double header's second game).
-In June [[1938 in baseball|1938]], [[Johnny Vander Meer]] of the [[Cincinnati Reds]] accomplished what no other pitcher has managed to duplicate before or since. On [[June 11]] of that year, he threw a no-hitter against the [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Braves]].  In his very next start, [[June 15]], he threw a no-hitter against the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]], thus becoming the only pitcher in baseball history to throw consecutive no-hitters. He was perhaps aided by the fact that it was also the very first night game at [[Ebbets Field]]. Most baseball historians believe that his feat will never be exceeded, since to do so a pitcher would have to throw ''three'' consecutive no-hitters. [[Allie Reynolds]] (in [[1951 in baseball|1951]]), [[Virgil Trucks]] (in [[1952 in baseball|1952]]), [[Jim Maloney]] (in [[1965 in baseball|1965]]), and [[Nolan Ryan]] (in [[1973 in baseball|1973]]) are the only other major leaguers thus far to throw two no-hitters in the same season. The pitcher who came closest to matching Vander Meer was [[Ewell Blackwell]] of Cincinnati, who had a no-hitter broken up with one out in the ninth against Brooklyn on 22 June 1947, four days after no-hitting the Braves 6-0.
-[[Dave Stieb]] of the Toronto Blue Jays nearly duplicated Vander Meer's feat in his last two starts of the 1988 season when he lost no-hit bids (one a perfect game) with two outs in the ninth on both occasions. Furthermore, Stieb threw a one-hitter in his second start of the following season, thus giving him three one-hitters in four starts. After losing another no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning later in 1989, Stieb finally accomplished the elusive feat when he no-hit the Cleveland Indians on [[September 2]], [[1990 in baseball|1990]].
-Five pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in both the [[American League]] and the [[National League]]: [[Cy Young]], [[Nolan Ryan]], [[Jim Bunning]], [[Hideo Nomo]], and [[Randy Johnson]]. Only three catchers have caught a no-hitter in each league: [[Gus Triandos]], [[Jeff Torborg]], and [[Ron Hassey]].  Triandos caught [[Hoyt Wilhelm]]'s 1958 no-hitter and Jim Bunning's [[perfect game]], Torborg caught [[Sandy Koufax]]'s perfect game and Nolan Ryan's first no-hitter, and Hassey caught [[Len Barker]]'s and [[Dennis Martinez]]'s perfect games.
-[[Harvey Kuenn]] had the dubious distinction of making the final out in two of [[Sandy Koufax]]'s four no-hitters. As a [[San Francisco Giants|Giant]] in [[1963 in baseball|1963]] he hit a ground ball back to none other than Koufax for the final out; as a [[Chicago Cubs|Cub]] in [[1965 in baseball|1965]] he struck out for the final out in Koufax's [[Sandy Koufax's perfect game|perfect game]] (to date, the last no-hitter to be pitched against the Cubs).
-In [[1991 in baseball|1991]], [[Nolan Ryan]] completed his seventh no-hitter by striking out [[Roberto Alomar]] for the final out. Ryan's second baseman in his first two no-hitters (both of which were pitched in [[1973 in baseball|1973]]) had been Alomar's father, [[Sandy Alomar, Sr.|Sandy Sr.]]
-The Forsch brothers are the only brother combination to pitch Major League no-hitters. [[Bob Forsch|Bob]] of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] pitched two: on [[April 16]], [[1978 in baseball|1978]] against the [[Philadelphia Phillies]], and [[September 26]], [[1983 in baseball|1983]] against the [[Montréal Expos]]. Less than a year after Bob's first, his brother [[Ken Forsch|Ken]] of the [[Houston Astros]] joined him by pitching his no-hitter on [[April 7]], [[1979 in baseball|1979]] against the [[Atlanta Braves]].
-Back-to-back no-hitters have been tossed for teams opposing each other during a single series.  On [[September 17]], [[1968 in baseball|1968]], [[Gaylord Perry]] of the [[San Francisco Giants]] no-hit the [[St. Louis Cardinals]], 1-0, at [[Candlestick Park]]. The very next day, [[Ray Washburn]] returned the favor for his Cardinals against the Giants, with St. Louis prevailing over San Francisco, 2-0.  It happened again when [[Jim Maloney]] of the Reds pitched an easy 10-0 victory against the Astros on [[April 30]], [[1969 in baseball|1969]] at [[Crosley Field]].  The very next day, [[Don Wilson (baseball player)|Don Wilson]] of the Astros returned the favor, no-hitting the Reds 4-0.  The no-hitters were the second of both Maloney's and Wilson's careers (in [[1965 in baseball|1965]] Maloney, in a third game, allowed no hits after ten innings but had the no-hitter broken up by a home run in the 11th).
-[[Addie Joss]] is the only pitcher to throw two no-hitters against the same team. On [[October 2]], [[1908 in baseball|1908]], the [[Cleveland Indians|Cleveland Indian]] pitcher hurled a perfect game against the [[Chicago White Sox]]. (With the exception of Larsen's post-season / World Series no-hitter on October 8, 1956, this no-hitter is also the latest, calendar-wise, that a no-hitter has been pitched in modern history, later tied by [[Bill Stoneman]], in [[1972 in baseball|1972]].) Joss pitched a second no-hitter against the White Sox on [[April 20]], [[1910 in baseball|1910]].
-In [[1970 in baseball|1970]], four of the five [[California]]-based Major League Stadiums had no-hitters pitched in them, with [[Monster Park|Candlestick Park]] being the only one not to witness a no-hitter. In the first game of a [[June 12]] doubleheader, Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher [[Dock Ellis]] no-hit the San Diego Padres 2-0 at [[Qualcomm Stadium|San Diego Stadium]] (while, Ellis claims, tripping on [[LSD]]). On [[July 3]], California Angel pitcher [[Clyde Wright]] no-hit the Oakland Athletics 4-0 at [[Angel Stadium of Anaheim|Anaheim Stadium]]. On [[July 20]], Los Angeles Dodger pitcher [[Bill Singer]] no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 at [[Dodger Stadium]]. And on [[September 21]], Oakland's [[Vida Blue]] no-hit the Minnesota Twins 6-0 at [[McAfee Coliseum|Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum]].
-In addition to the aforementioned [[Wilson Alvarez]], whose only previous Major League appearance came as a Texas Ranger, two other pitchers have pitched no-hitters in their first starts with a new team.  On [[May 15]], [[1960 in baseball|1960]], only two days after being traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Chicago Cubs, [[Don Cardwell]] no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in the second game of a doubleheader.  On [[April 4]], [[2001 in baseball|2001]], [[Hideo Nomo]], signed as a free agent by the Boston Red Sox the previous December, no-hit the Baltimore Orioles 3-0.  Nomo's no-hitter - the second of his career - is also the earliest in the regular-season calendar that a no-hitter has been thrown.
-Two pitchers have [[home run|homered]] while pitching no-hitters. [[Earl Wilson]] of the Boston Red Sox hit a home run during his [[June 26]], [[1962 in baseball|1962]] no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels. [[Rick Wise]] went one better: in his [[June 23]], [[1971 in baseball|1971]] no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds, the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] pitcher hit ''two'' home runs.
-Some teams seem to pitch no-hitters more than others.  Most notably, the [[New York Mets]] have never had a no-hitter pitched for them since their inception in [[1962 in baseball|1962]], despite having had some of baseball's most overpowering no-hit pitchers including [[Tom Seaver]], [[Dwight Gooden]], [[Nolan Ryan]], [[Pedro Martinez]], [[Tom Glavine]], [[Al Leiter]] and [[Mike Scott (baseball)|Mike Scott]] on their pitching staff at times. (In sharp contrast, [[Bill Stoneman]] pitched a no-hitter for the [[Montreal Expos]] on [[April 17]], [[1969 in baseball|1969]]—only ''nine games'' into the franchise's existence. Moreover, on [[June 30]], [[1962 in baseball|1962]], only three months into the Mets' existence, [[Sandy Koufax]] threw a no-hitter against them for the first of his four career no-hitters.) The [[San Diego Padres]], who started play in 1969, also have never had a no-hitter; neither have two recent expansion teams, the [[Colorado Rockies]] (1993) and [[Tampa Bay Devil Rays]] (1998).
-Bobo Holloman's no-hitter was one of his only three Major League victories. By comparison, eight [[300 win club|300-game winners]]-[[Grover Cleveland Alexander]], [[Kid Nichols]], [[Lefty Grove]], [[Early Wynn]], [[Steve Carlton]], [[Don Sutton]], [[Greg Maddux]] and [[Roger Clemens]]-have/had never pitched a no-hitter in their careers.
-Also, some parks are famous for their number of no-hitters, either high or low. [[Forbes Field]], home to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] from [[1909 in baseball|1909]] to [[1970 in baseball|1970]], never saw a no-hitter.  Conversely, [[Kauffman Stadium]], home of the [[Kansas City Royals]], had a no-hitter pitched in only its first year of existence: [[Nolan Ryan]]'s first career no-hitter in [[1973 in baseball|1973]].  Two parks in existence for a decade or more have only seen one no-hitter to date&mdash;the Orioles' current home, [[Oriole Park at Camden Yards]], and [[Coors Field]], the notoriously hitter-friendly home of the [[Colorado Rockies]]. In both parks, the only pitcher to throw a no-hitter is [[Hideo Nomo]].
-No-hitters have become rarer than ever. [[Anibal Sanchez]]'s no-hitter on [[September 6]], [[2006 in baseball|2006]] ended a 2 1/2 year stretch without one, the longest stretch between no-hitters in seventy years [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060509&content_id=1444803&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb] and the longest number of games played (6,364) between no-hitters in Major League history.[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060907/ap_on_sp_ba_ga_su/bbn_diamondbacks_marlins_24] The number of no-hitters pitched since the early 1990s has decreased due to the increasing rarity of a starting pitcher completing a game, based on restrictions to his [[pitch count]] (which nowadays averages about 100 per [[quality start]]). Since 100 pitches are usually thrown by the sixth or seventh inning of most games, the starting pitcher is typically removed from the game, even if he is pitching well. There have, however, been a number of combined no-hitters, utilizing multiple pitchers.  Generally however, managers will allow the pitcher working on a no-hitter to stay in the game because even some of the greatest pitchers in history have never had a chance at a no-hitter.
-In the [[2006 World Baseball Classic]] [[Shairon Martis]] pitched a no hitter for the [[Netherlands national baseball team|Netherlands]] against [[Panama national baseball team]], however it was only seven innings due to the [[mercy rule]].
 ==See also==