Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 31

Today’s no-no birthdays: Stoneman, Phoebus and Lafitte

NoNoHitters.com wishes a happy birthday to Bill Stoneman (75th), Tom Phoebus (77th) and Ed Lafitte (born on this day in 1886).

Stoneman threw two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos. His first came in the club’s ninth game, as Stoneman no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, April 17, 1969 at Connie Mack Stadium. His second came during the first game of a Parc Jarry doubleheader on Monday, October 2, 1972, as the Expos topped the New York Mets 7-0.

Phoebus a Baltimore native who turns 77 today, tossed a no-no for his hometown Orioles on Saturday, April 27, 1968 at Memorial Stadium. The O’s topped the Boston Red Sox in that game 6-0.

Lafitte began his career with the Detroit Tigers. He moved over to the competing Federal League in 1914 and was pitching for the Brooklyn Tip-Tops when he threw his no-hitter against the Kansas City Packers during the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, September 19, 1914 at Brooklyn’s Washington Park.

Why are cycles surpassing no-hitters?

No-hitters and hits for the cycle used to happen with about the same frequency, as the two rare feats once shared a brotherly camaraderie. Then suddenly, as we hit the 2000s, cycles began appearing at a 1.6-to-1 ratio, far surpassing the pace of no-hitters. What happened?

On Friday night, the Minnesota Twins’ Jorge Polanco completed the first cycle of the 2019 season (and the 325th in major-league history), hitting a triple in the first inning, a single in the third, a homer in the fifth and a double in the seventh against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Meanwhile, no-hitters are holding steady at 299, falling behind by 26 feats in a contest that has always been considered a pitchers’ duel.

The 1800s saw 42 cycles and 42 no-hitters, and no-nos slightly edged out cycles in the 1900s by a score of 206-203. Then all hell broke lose.

Cycles jumped early on the new millennium scoreboard. Pitchers couldn’t toss a single no-no in 2000, as hitters took a 5-0 lead on cycles by the Chicago White Sox’s Jose Valentin, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jason Kendall, the Colorado Rockies’ Mike Lansing, the Oakland Athletics’ Eric Chavez and the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Luis Gonzalez.

Three pitchers managed to toss no-nos in 2001 (the Boston Red Sox’s Hideo Nomo, the Florida Marlins’ A.J. Burnett and the St. Louis Cardinals’ Bud Smith), but cycles managed to put up another five-spot, with the Detroit Tigers’ Damion Easley, the Seattle Mariners’ John Olerud, the Houston Astros’ Jeff Bagwell, the Toronto Blue Jays’ Jeff Frye and the Oakland Athletics’ Miguel Tejada all completing their quests

Even when pitchers in 2012 tried to make it a game by responding with an MLB record-tying seven no-hitters, cycles didn’t yield much ground. The 2012 seasoned featured the New York Mets’ Johan Santana tossing the franchise’s first-ever no-hitter, perfectos by the Chicago White Sox’s Philip Humber, the San Francisco Giants’ Matt Cain and the Seattle Mariners’ Felix Hernandez, and plain-old no-nos by the Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver, a Seattle Mariners tandem and the Cincinnati Reds’ Homer Bailey.

Cycles responded with one by the New York Mets’ Scott Hairston, two in the same month by the Arizona Diamondbacks’  Aaron Hilland one by the Texas Rangers’ Adrián Beltré.

As of Friday night’s cycle by Polanco, the 2000s score sits at an 80-51 blowout.

I’m trying to figure out a valid reason for this, but both no-hitters and cycles are random oddities and there probably is no explanation. Any thoughts?

Happy birthday, Bert Blyleven and Tommy Greene

Bert Blyleven and Tommy Greene are celebrating no-no birthdays today.

Blyleven, the only no-hitter thrower born in the Netherlands, turns 68 today. The Texas Rangers pitcher from Zeist no-hit the California Angels on Thursday, September 22, 1977, at Anaheim Stadium. Blyleven, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011, is a color analyst for the Minnesota Twins.

Greene, who turns 52, threw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, May 23, 1991, against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium.

Padres no no-no count hits 5,000, 19 years ago today

The San Diego Padres’ no no-hitter count hit 5,000 regular-season games, 19 years ago today.

At Shea Stadium on April 6, 2000, in the franchise’s third game of the millennium, the New York Mets’ Derek Bell singled in the bottom of the second inning off Matt Clement for the 5,000th regular-season Padres game void of a no-hitter.

Another milestone was marked a half-inning earlier in the first-base dugout, when Eric Owens singled to right off Mike Hampton to send the Mets’ no no-hitters count up to 6,029 games, a streak that would end in 2012 at 8,019 games when New York’s Johan Santana no-hit the Cardinals.

The Padres currently sit 35 games shy of the Mets record at 7,984.

Padres set mark for early-season scoring futility, 3 years ago today

The San Diego Padres set a major-league record by becoming the first club to open a season by getting shut out three straight times, three years ago today.

In going down 1-2-3 in the ninth during a 7-0 loss at Petco Park on Wednesday, April 6, 2016, the Padres surpassed the 1943 St. Louis Cardinals, a squad that couldn’t score its first run against the Cincinnati Reds until the eighth inning of the third game (Stan Musial scored on a passed ball).

The Padres finally broke through two days later at Coors Field during the team’s fourth game, exploding on the Colorado Rockies for six runs in the fourth to halt the scoreless-innings mark at 30⅓ innings. It was Jon Jay’s RBI single off eventual Friar Jordan Lyles that scored Melvin Upton Jr. and gave San Diego its first 2016 run.

Twins’ Polanco hits for cycle vs. Phillies

The Minnesota Twins’ Jorge Polanco hit for the cycle Friday night, marking the 325th such accomplishment in major-league history.

Polanco tripled in the first inning, singled in the third, homered in the fifth and doubled in the seventh to complete the Twins first cycle since Michael Cuddyer notched the feat on Friday, May 22, 2009 at the Metrodome.

The Twins have hit for cycle 11 times since moving from Washington to Minneapolis.

Although we at NoNoHitters.com prefer no-hitters to this other rare feat, we do maintain a cycles list here.

Bill Dinneen, no-no pitcher, 5-time no-no ump, born 143 years ago today

Today would be the 143rd birthday of Boston Americans’ pitcher Bill Dinneen, who threw a no-hitter and called five of such feats from behind the plate.

Dinneen no-hit the White Sox at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds during the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, September 27, 1905. Boston topped Chicago 2-0, and Dinneen struck out six.

Dinneen retired in 1909 after pitching 12 seasons and compiling a 170-177 record with a 3.01 ERA. He transitioned into the role of a major-league umpire and stood behind the plate for five no-hitters:

1
Charles “Chief” Bender



Philadelphia Athletics (AL)



Thursday, May 12, 1910
Philadelphia Athletics 4, Cleveland Naps 0
Shibe Park (Philadelphia)


2
George Mullin



Detroit Tigers (AL)



Thursday, July 4, 1912 (Second game of doubleheader)
Detroit Tigers 7, St. Louis Browns 0
Navin Field (Detroit)


3
Hubert “Dutch” Leonard



Boston Red Sox (AL)



Monday, June 3, 1918
Boston Red Sox 5, Detroit Tigers 0
Navin Field (Detroit)
(Leonard’s second of two no-hitters)


4
“Sad” Sam Jones



New York Yankees (AL)



Tuesday, September 4, 1923
New York Yankees 2, Philadelphia Athletics 0
Shibe Park (Philadelphia)
(Jones becomes the first MLB pitcher to throw a no hitter without a single strikeout.)


5
Howard Ehmke



Boston Red Sox (AL)



Friday, September 7, 1923
Boston Red Sox 4, Philadelphia Athletics 0
Shibe Park (Philadelphia)

Indians tandem falls 3 outs shy of no-no No. 300

The Cleveland Indians fell three outs shy of Major League Baseball’s 300th no-hitter on Thursday, losing a combined effort against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field.

Trevor Bauer tossed seven innings of no-hit ball despite giving up six bases on balls and hitting a batter before leaving the game after 117 pitches. John Edwards took the mound and trudged through two-thirds of a no-hit inning, issuing two walks and hitting a batter, which prompted Manager Terry Francona to call for closer Brad Hand. Hand induced an infield pop fly from to strand the three runners in the eighth and took the mound to close out the ninth, but he gave up a leadoff single to Freddy Galvis.

Outside of the San Diego Padres, the Indians are enduring the longest active no no-hitters streak for 37 years, 10 months, 20 days. Cleveland’s last no-no was when Len Barker tossed a perfect game against the Blue Jays on Friday, May 15, 1981 at Cleveland Stadium for a 3-0 win.

The last no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays was thrown 10 months, 23 days ago, when the Seattle Mariners’ James Paxton no-hit the Jays for a 5-0 win at Rogers Centre on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. He became the first Canadian-born pitcher to toss a no-no in his home country.

Camagüey’s González tosses Cuba’s 8th ’68 no-no, 51 years ago today

Florentino González threw a no-hitter for Camagüey 51 years ago today, the eighth of such feats accomplished during the 1967-’68 season of Cuba’s Serie Nacional de Beisebol.

On Thursday, April 4, 1968, at Camagüey’s Estadio Cándido González, González no-hit Matanzas for a 1-0 victory.

The MLB record for no-hitters in a season is seven, accomplished in 1991, 2012 and 2015.

Here are the eight Serie Nacional de Beisebol during the ’67-’68 season (there was actually another no-hitter during the ’68 calendar year, but it came during the ’68-’69 season):

1
Leopoldo Valdés



Havana



Sunday, January 7, 1968
Havana 5, Pinar del RÍo 0
Estadio Latinoamericano (Havana)
With Pérez’s no-no below, first time no-hitters were thrown on same day


2
Jesús Pérez



Industriales



Sunday, January 7, 1968
Industriales 5, Vegueros 0
Estadio 26 de Julio (Artemisa)
With Valdés’ no-no above, first time no-hitters were thrown on same day


3
Douglas Sorriba



Granjeros



Tuesday, January 9, 1968
Granjeros 4, Henequeneros 1
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)


4
José Antonio Huelga



Azucareros



Sunday, January 14, 1968
Azucareros 1, Granjeros 0
Estadio Augusto César Sandino (Santa Clara)


5
Douglas Sorriba



Granjeros



Tuesday, January 16, 1968
Granjeros 4, Vegueros 1
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)


6
Orlando Figueredo



Oriente



Thursday, January 25 ,1968
Oriente 1, Azucareros 0
Ciudad Deportiva (Santiago de Cuba)


7
Florentino Alfonso



Granjeros



Saturday, March 16, 1968
Camagüey 1, Granjeros 0 (A Granjeros loss)
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)
Only no-hitter for a loss in Cuban history


8
Florentino González



Camagüey



Thursday, April 4, 1968
Camagüey 1, Matanzas 0
Estadio Cándido González (Camagüey)

Nomo’s first no-no, 18 years ago today

The Boston Red Sox’s Hideo Nomo tossed the earliest regular-season no-hitter in MLB history in terms of the calendar year, 18 years ago today.

On Wednesday, April 4, 2001, at Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Nomo no-hit the Baltimore Orioles for a 3-0 win. He walked three and struck out 11.It was Nomo’s second no-hitter, and it came during the Red Sox’s second game of the 2011 season.

On Tuesday, September 17, 1996, while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Nomo no-hit the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field for a 9-0 win.