Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 53

Angels’ Langston, Witt no-hit Mariners, 28 years ago today

The California Angels’ Mark Langston and Mike Witt tossed a combined no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners, 28 years ago today.

On Wednesday, April 11, 1990, at Anaheim Stadium, Langston threw seven innings of no-hit ball and Witt tossed a six-out no-hit save as the Angels topped the Mariners 1-0.

Witt’s no-hit save came nearly six years after he threw his own no-no on Sept. 30, 1984, a perfect game against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium on the final game of the season.

Happy 30th birthday Chris Heston, no-hit Mets in 2015

Happy 30th birthday to Chris Heston, who threw a San Francisco Giants no-hitter against the New York Mets in 2015 in his 13th major league start.

Heston struck out 11 batters and did not allow a walk on June 9, 2015, but he hit three batters for the 5-0 win — the first no-hitter thrown at Citi Field since Johan Santana’s 2012 no-no.

Heston was perfect through three innings as his Giants built a 3-run lead off Noah Syndergaard by the middle of the third. Heston retired Curtis Granderson to make it 10 straight before plunking Ruben Tejada in the arm with a 75 mph curve ball and then grazing Lucas Duda’s pant leg with an 89-mph fastball. Heston got out of the jam by inducing a 5-4-3 double-play out of Michael Cuddyer.

Matt Duffy extended the Giants’ lead with a solo homer to left off Syndergaard in the sixth, and Joe Panik tagged relieved Dillon Gee for another dinger in the seventh to make it 5-0.

Meanwhile, Heston kept retiring Mets batters only to return to the Giants dugout to be ignored (per superstitious baseball protocol). His only other blemish came in the ninth when he plunked Mets catcher Anthony Recker in the upper arm with an 89-mph fastball. He then caught pinch-hitter Danny Muno, Granderson and Tejada looking to complete the no-no with his ninth, 10th and 11th K’s.

Happy birthday to Fred Frankhouse, Dodgers hurler who threw 8-inning no-no

Fred Frankhouse, a Dodgers pitcher who threw an eight-inning no-hitter but is not included in the official record books, was born 114 years ago today.

On Friday, August 27, 1937, in the first game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field, The Brooklyn Dodgers’ curve-baller threw 7⅔ innings of no-hit ball against the Cincinnati Reds before the skies opened up. The rain ended the action and it was called as a Dodgers 5-0 win. (The second game of the doubleheader was canceled.)

Frankhouse allowed six walks, and another Reds batter reached base on an error.

Of course the papers of the day credited Frankhouse with a no-hitter, using such phrases as “Frankhouse enters Hall of Fame,” but a 1991 ruling by baseball’s committee for statistical accuracy zapped rain- and darkness-shortened no-nos from the official ledgers.

Padres no no-no streak born, 49 years ago today

The San Diego Padres’ no no-hitters streak was born at San Diego Stadium, 49 years today.

On April 9, 1969, Padres starter Dick Selma gave up a leadoff single to the Houston Astros’ Jesús Alou to mark the first Padres game without a no-hitter. Forty-nine years later, the Padres are still awaiting the franchise’s first no-hitter.

The Padres’ National League expansion partner, the Montreal Expos, got the accomplishment out of the way in the team’s ninth game. On April 17, 1969, the Expos’ Bill Stoneman no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies for a 7-0 victory at Connie Mack Stadium.

Happy birthday to Bill Stoneman (74), Tom Phoebus (76)

Top, Bill Stoneman. Above, Tom Phoebus

Today is a busy day for no-no birthdays, with Bill Stoneman turning 74, Tom Phoebus turning 76 and Ed Lafitte (1866) born on this day.

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 76 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.

Happy birthday to no-no club members Bert Blyleven, Tommy Greene

Tommy Greene

We’re sending out some no-no birthday wishes today to Bert Blyleven and Tommy Greene.

Blyleven, the only no-hitter thrower born in the Netherlands, turns 65. 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 now a color analyst for the Minnesota Twins.

Greene, who turns 51 today, threw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, May 23, 1991, against the Montreal Expos at Olympic Stadium.

Celebrating the birthday of no-no thower, no-no umpire Bill Dinneen

Happy birthday to Boston Americans’ pitcher Bill Dinneen, who threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox more than a century ago.

Dinneen no-hit the White Sox at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Grounds on 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 season and compiling a 170-177 record with a 3.01 ERA. He transitioned into the role of a major league umpire, and was behind the plate for five no-hitters.

Here are those games:

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)

Will the no-no gods ever embrace single-digit pitchers?

With single-digit pitcher Clayton Richard (No. 3) getting the start tonight for the San Diego Padres, I figured it’s a good time look at the single-digit pitcher trend and how it relates to no-hitters.

The tradition of pitchers wearing of double-digit numbers dates back to the birth of uniform numbers in 1927, when the batting lineup dictated uniform numbers. The backup catcher often got No. 9, so the pitching staff was left with 10 and up.

No single-digit-wearing pitcher has ever thrown an MLB no-hitter. The lowest no-no number is No. 11, with Doc Gooden (New York Yankees, 1996) and Hideo Nomo (Boston Red Sox, 2001) and completing the feats.

Three pitchers who have thrown no-hitters have worn single-digit numbers at some point in their careers.

Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who threw three career no-hitters, wore No. 9 during his rookie season in 1936 before switching over to the more mature No. 19 the next year.
Bill Monbouquette, who threw a no-hitter for the Red Sox in 1962, briefly wore No. 8 after he was traded by the New York Yankees to the San Francisco Giants in 1968. He soon switched to No. 39.
David Wells, who threw a perfect game for the Yankees in 1998, wore No. 3 when he started with the Red Sox in 2005 to honor childhood idol, Babe Ruth, but soon switched to No. 16. Wells actually wanted to wear No. 03 when he was with the Yankees (Ruth’s No. 3 is retired) but he was denied permission.

Five active MLB starting pitchers (and two relievers) are wearing single digits, and we’ll see if one of the starting crew can throw the first single-digit no-no. They are: the Toronto Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman (No. 6), the Tampa Bay Rays’ Blake Snell (No. 4), the Seattle Mariners’ Mike Leake (No. 8), the St. Louis Cardinals’ Luke Weaver (No. 7) and the Padres’ Richard (No. 3). Los Angeles Dodgers starter Julio Urías (No. 7) is still trying to return from surgery, but we’ll keep him in the running.

The current trend of pitchers bucking tradition came into full focus on April 6, 2017, at the Trop, when Stroman (No. 6) faced off against Snell (No. 4). The Blue Jays’ Stroman lost his no-no on a second-inning Steven Souza single; the Rays’ Snell gave his up on a third-inning Darwin Barney single.

Only two of tho current single-digit pitchers have reached the seventh inning with a no-hitter intact.

Urías reached the seventh inning with a no-no going for the Dodgers on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, before losing it when the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen led off with a ground-rule double. Current single-digit starter Leake reached the seventh inning with a no-no intact on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, but at the time he was wearing No. 44 for the Cincinnati Reds. The spoiler in that effort was the Philadelphia Phillies’ Maikel Franco, who lined a two-out single up the middle.

The night of the Stroman-Snell game, ESPN Stats & Info noted that the Jays-Rays matchup marked the first time that single-digit number pitchers faced off since Sept. 14, 1941, when the Boston Braves’ Johnny Hutchings (No. 5) battled the Chicago Cubs’ Johnny Schmitz (No. 7) during the second game of a Wrigley Field doubleheader. Phil Cavarretta spoiled Hutchings’ effort with a first-inning home run; Hank LaManna’s second-inning double killed Schmitz’s bid.

The two relievers wearing single-digit numbers are the Chicago Cub’ Carl Edwards Jr., who has worn No. 6 for his entire four-year stint in Chicago, and the Colorado Rockies’ Adam Ottavino, who has worn No. 0 since 2013.

Ottavino told the Denver Post that the tradition dates back to his youth days, when he liked having “0” for Ottavino on jerseys that didn’t include players’ names. Cleveland Indians reliever Matt Belisle, who wore No. 9 for the Minnesota Twins last year, has switched to the more traditional No. 46 for the 2018 season.

Red Sox’s Nomo no-hits Orioles, 17 years ago today

The Boston Red Sox’s Hideo Nomo tossed the earliest no-hitter in MLB history in terms of the calendar year, 17 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.

Happy 55th birthday, no-no thrower Chris Bosio

Wishing a happy 55th birthday to Detroit Tigers pitching coach Chris Bosio, who threw a no-hitter for the Seattle Mariners in 1993.

Bosio threw his no-no against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, April 22, 1993 at the Kingdome for a 7-0 win. His feat, the last no-no thrown against the Red Sox, will turn 25 in less than three weeks.

Also born on this date in 1856 is Louisville Eclipse pitcher Guy Hecker, who tossed a no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys on Tuesday, September 19, 1882 at Pittsburgh’s Exposition Park. The Eclipse won 3-1.