Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 106
January 6, 2016
No no-hitter pitchers to be elected to Hall on Wednesday
No no-hitter pitchers will be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
The only player to appear on the 2016 ballot and the official no-hitter list is reliever Billy Wagner, but he pitched just one inning of the Houston Astros’ six-pitcher combined 2003 no-no against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
That game, which set the record for most pitchers used in a no-no (later tied), included Roy Oswalt (1 inn.), Peter Munro (2⅔ inn.), Kirk Saarloos (1⅓ inn.), Brad Lidge (2 inn.), Octavio Dotel (1 inn.) and Wagner (1 inn.).
Looking ahead, here are no-no players coming up for eligibility:
2017: Jason Varitek, who set the record for most no-hitters caught with four (a mark later tied by Carlos Ruiz)
2018: Kevin Millwood, who threw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2003 and tossed the first 6 innings of a combined Seattle Mariners no-hitter in 2012
2019: Roy Halladay, who tossed a perfect game for the Philadelphia Phillies against the Florida Marlins in May 2010 and followed it up with an October National League Divisional Series no-no against the Cincinnati Reds, and Oswalt, the 1-inning starter in the Astros’ combined no-no
2020: Josh Beckett, who threw a no-no for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Phillies in 2014
Johnson, Martínez, Smoltz elected into Hall, 1 year ago today
One of Randy Johnson’s no-no balls in the Baseball Hall of Fame.Pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz were elected into the Hall of Fame, one year ago today.
Johnson, who won 303 games and lost 166 over a 22-year-career, threw two no-hitters. His first was a 1990 no-no for the Seattle Mariners, the first in that franchise’s history. His second was a 2004 perfect game for the Arizona Diamondbacks, the first no-no in that franchise’s history.
Martínez, who posted a 219-100 record over an 18-year career, threw nine innings of perfect ball against the Padres on June 3, 1995, but his Expos couldn’t score a run and Martínez wound up giving up a hit in the 10th. It’s not considered a no-hitter.
Smoltz, a 22-year pitcher winning 213 games and losing 155, came within two outs of a no-hitter on May 27, 1990. Smoltz was no-hitting the Philadelphia Phillies through 8⅓ when Lenny Dykstra doubled to right. Von Hayes followed with an RBI single, so Smoltz had to settle for a 6-1 complete-game win.
January 5, 2016
Happy 51st birthday, Juan Nieves
Happy 51st birthday to Juan Nieves, who threw the only no-hitter in Milwaukee Brewers history.
Nieves, who was born in the Santurce section of San Juan, is the first Puerto Rico-born pitcher to throw a major-league no-hitter. At Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, April 15, 1987, Nieves no-hit the Orioles for a 7-0 win. The Brewers’ Robin Yount made a diving catch in right-center field for the final out.
Also born on this date in 1888 is George “Rube” Foster, who threw a Boston Red Sox no-hitter against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, June 21, 1916, at Fenway Park for a 2-0 win.
(Feature image courtesy of the Ernie Harwell Sports Collection, Detroit Public Library)
January 4, 2016
Dinneen jumps from Boston Beaneaters to Americans, 114 years ago today.
Bill Dinneen in 1916 as an umpire.No-no thrower Bill Dinneen jumped from the National League’s Boston Beaneaters to the AL’s Boston Americans, 114 years ago today.
Dinneen began his major league career with the National League’s now-defunct Washington Senators in 1898 before pitching for the Beaneaters (now the Braves) in 1900 and 1901. His no-hitter for the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) came during the opening contest of a Wednesday, September 27, 1905, doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds. The Americans won 2-0.
Dinneen is probably best known as a longtime baseball umpire. He is one of just two in major league history to both throw a no-hitter and call one as a home plate umpire (Adonis Terry is the other).
January 3, 2016
Happy birthday A.J. Burnett
A.J. Burnett’s no-no ball in the Hall of Fame.Happy 39th birthday to A.J. Burnett, who threw the Florida Marlins’ third no-hitter in their brief nine-year history in 2001.
At Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday, May 12, 2001, Burnett no-hit the San Diego Padres for a 3-0 win despite facing 36 Padres batters. Burnett walked nine and broke Padres second-baseman Damian Jackson’s thumb by hitting him with a pitch, but he held the team hitless for one of the most unlikely no-nos in modern-era Major League history. Every Padres position player reached base, and Burnett threw only 65 of 129 pitches for strikes.
The game tied Dock Ellis’ record for most batters faced in a nine-inning no-hitter (36), yet Ellis accomplished his feat while hallucinating on LSD. The Cincinnati Reds’ Jim Maloney faced 40 batters during his 10-inning no-no against the Chicago Cubs in 1965, walking 10 and hitting another batter with a pitch.
Burnett’s no-no was one of two thrown against the Padres in 2001. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Bud Smith, a 21-year-old rookie making his 11th career start, tossed his in September.
Here’s the last out of Burnett’s no-no:
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January 2, 2016
Happy birthday, David Cone
Old Timer’s Day — David Cone by Mark Rosal licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0Happy 53rd birthday to David Cone, a New York Mets fan favorite who threw a perfect game for the crosstown Yankees in 1999.
On Sunday, July 18, 1999, in an interleague game in the Bronx, Cone shut down the Montreal Expos lineup for a 6-0 win, retiring every Expos batter he faced. It was “Yogi Berra Day” at Yankee Stadium, and Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Berra before Cone took the mound.
Larsen and Berra, of course, teamed for a Yankees perfecto in Game 5 of the the 1956 World Series. Behind the plate for Cone’s perfecto was current Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
December 31, 2015
New Year’s baby ‘Bumpus’ Jones threw no-no in first appearance
Happy New Year, and Happy 146th Birthday to Charles “Bumpus” Jones, who threw a no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in his first major league appearance.
Reds player-manager Charles Comiskey, who had watched Jones pitch well in an 1892 exhibition, gave Jones the opportunity to pitch Cincinnati’s final game of the ’92 season on Saturday, October 15. Jones no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates for a 7-1 home victory at League Park.
Two pitchers have thrown no-hitters in the first major league starts, but no one else has done it in their first major league appearance.
A’s perfecto pitcher ‘Catfish’ Hunter signs with Yankees, 41 years ago today
Jim “Catfish” HunterJim “Catfish” Hunter, who threw a perfect game for the Oakland Athletics in 1968, signed with the New York Yankees 41 years ago today.
Hunter’s 5-year, $3.75 million dollar contract was unprecedented in its day, tripling what any other major league player was making.
“With the Cat, we are World Champions,” A’s teammate Reggie Jackson told the AP. “Without him, we are a question mark … we are not a shoo-in anymore.” Jackson would jump from the A’s to the Yanks on November 29, 1976.
Hunter’s 1968 perfect game for the A’s was was his only career no-hitter. On Wednesday, May 8, 1968, Hunter retired every Minnesota Twins batter he faced for a 4-0 win at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum.
December 29, 2015
Happy 80th birthday, Sandy Koufax
A happy 80th birthday to Sandy Koufax, who tossed four no-hitters — one of them perfect — for the 1960s Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Brooklyn-born southpaw pitched his no-nos in consecutive years from 1962-65, culminating with a perfecto over the Chicago Cubs in ’65. The Cubs played nearly 50 years until they were no-hit again, when Cole Hamels tossed a no-no at Wrigley on July 25, 2015.
1
Sandy Koufax
Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
Saturday, June 30, 1962
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, New York Mets 0
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)
(His first of four no-hitters)
2
Sandy Koufax
Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
Saturday, May 11, 1963
Los Angeles Dodgers 8, San Francisco Giants 0
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)
(His second of four no-hitters)
3
Sandy Koufax
Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
Thursday, June 4, 1964
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Philadelphia Phillies 0
Connie Mack Stadium (Philadelphia)
(His third of four no-hitters, tying Larry Corcoran, Cy Young and Bob Feller.. Koufax would throw a fourth no-no to break the record in 1965.)
4
Sandy Koufax
Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)
Thursday, September 9, 1965
Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Chicago Cubs 0
Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles)
(Perfect game, his fourth of four no-hitters setting a new major league record, breaking the previous mark of three shared between him, Larry Corcoran, Cy Young and Bob Feller. The record would be tied by Nolan Ryan in 1975 and broken in 1981.)
Here are some Koufax highlights:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Athletics no-no pitcher Weyhing born on this date 149 years ago
Gus WeyhingGus Weyhing, who threw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1888, was born 149 years ago today.
At Philadelphia’s Jefferson Street Grounds on Tuesday, July 31, 1888, Weyhing no-hit the Kansas City Cowboys for a 4-0 American Association win. The Athletics played errorless ball — a rare feat in those days — and the only Kansas City batters reached base on a second-inning hit-batsman and a fourth-inning walk.
Weyhing helped his cause at the plate, hitting a fifth-inning double and a seventh-inning triple.
