Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 55
March 28, 2018
Happy birthday to Cardinals no-no thrower Lon Warneke
Happy birthday to Lon Warneke, who threw a no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941.
Warneke, born 109 years ago today, no-hit the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 at Crosley Field on Saturday, August 30, 1941. The AP in its report said Warneke was backed by a strong defense.
“They stopped almost everything, and some of the balls were tagged for greener pastures,” the wire story noted.
Pirates no-hit Dodgers in Grapefruit League game, 52 years ago today.
A pair of Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers in a Grapefruit League matchup, 52 years ago today.
On Monday, March 28, 1966, at Terry Park in Fort Myers, Florida, Bob Veale threw seven innings of no-hit ball before handing the ball over to 22-year-old rookie Luke Walker, who completed the combined no-no for a 5-0 win.
Veale, a veteran lefty for the Bucs, retired the game’s first 12 batters before Tommy Davis reached base on a Bob Bailey error.
The no-no marked the Pirates’ second at Terry Park. On Wednesday, March 16, 1960, Bennie Daniels (5 innings) and Jim Umbricht (4 innings) teamed up to no-hit the Detroit Tigers for a 5-0 win. The only Tigers’ runner in that game came via Daniels hitting Eddie Yost with a pitch in the fourth.
The Royals tossed Terry Park’s third no-no in 1973.
March 27, 2018
Happy birthday to Brewers no-no thrower Ed Cushman
Happy 166th birthday to Ed Cushman, who threw a no-hitter for the Milwaukee Brewers of the Union Association on September 28, 1884.
Cushman on that day blanked the Washington Nationals 5-0 at Milwaukee’s Wright Street Grounds.
March 26, 2018
Happy birthday no-no thrower Mike Warren
Happy 57th birthday to former Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Warren, who tossed a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum on September 29, 1983.
Warren, a 22-year-old rookie, walked three and struck out five in the 112-pitch effort. His gem marked the first time the White Sox fell victim to a no-hitter in 22 years, when the Boston Red Sox’s Bill Monbouquette blanked the Chisox at Comiskey Park. Warren spent just three seasons in the majors, posting a 9-13 record with a 5.06 ERA.
Also born on this date (in 1884) is the Chicago Cubs’ Jimmy Lavender, who threw his no-no against the New York Giants in the first game of an August 31, 1915 doubleheader at the Polo Grounds.
March 25, 2018
McKeon and Geggus, once credited with no-hitters, born on this date
Larry McKeon and Charlie Geggus, the earliest no-hitter throwers to have their games tossed off the official list, were both born on this date.
McKeon, born on this date in 1866, threw a six-inning no-hitter for the American Association’s Indianapolis Hoosiers on Tuesday, May 6, 1884. The Hoosiers were locked in a scoreless tie in the sixth inning at League Park when the umpire called the game against the Cincinnati Red Stockings due to rain.
The Cincinnati Enquirer story about the game, headlined “A Tiresome Affair,” is a hoot.
“It was lacking in hard hitting, one of the most essential requisites to make a contest interesting,” the curmudgeonly writer penned.
He also complained that rain “only made a slow game slower,” the field was in sloppy condition, the ball was soggy and numerous foul balls “did not increase the interest a bit.”
Geggus, born on this date in 1862, threw eight innings of no-hit ball for the Union Association’s Washington Nationals on Thursday, August 21, 1884, but the game was called by consent as the Nationals had built a seemingly insurmountable 12-1 lead over the Wilmington Quicksteps. The Nationals might have chosen to play that final inning had they known what baseball would decide in September 1991.
The Committee for Statistical Accuracy, chaired by then MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent, changed the official definition of a no hitter, declaring it a game of nine innings or more that ends with no hits. The stringent definition eliminated 38 no-hitters from the books that were shortened by rain, darkness or other reasons, as well as losing efforts by the away team in which the home team doesn’t bat in the bottom of the ninth. It also wiped out 12 no-hitters by pitchers who threw nine innings of no-hit ball only to yield a hit in extra innings.
McKeon’s gem was once official no-hitter No. 10, and Geggus’ game held the No. 17 slot. Now they are relegated to our Close, but no cigar: No-hitters not officially recognized page.
March 24, 2018
Houston Astros lose combined no-no in 9th
The Houston Astros took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in Grapefruit League play Friday before the Minnesota Twins’ Ryan LaMarre led off the ninth by hitting an opposite-field double.
The Astros’ Rogelio Armenteros (3 innings), Reymin Guduan (2 innings), Joe Smith (1 inning) and Trent Thornton (2 innings) held the Twins scoreless and hitless through eight innings before LaMarre launched Thornton’s 3-2 fastball to the right field fence for a double. Two batters later, Tanner English knocked the ball into the left field berm for a two-run homer to tie the game at 2.
The Astros scored their runs on a pair of solo home runs by J.D. Davis.
Happy birthday Claude ‘Red’ Grier, threw baseball’s first World Series no-hitter
Today would be the 114th birthday of Claude “Red” Grier, who threw baseball’s first World Series no-hitter in 1926.
On Sunday, October 3, 1926, in the Game 3 of 1926 Colored World Series between Grier’s Atlantic City Bacharach Giants and the opposing Chicago American Giants, Grier no-hit the American Giants for a 10-0 win in front of just 2,857 fans at Maryland Baseball Park in Baltimore.
Thirty years later, the New York Yankees’ Don Larsen threw the first Major League Baseball no-hitter in the 1956 World Series, a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Angels no-hit Mariners in Tempe, 1 year ago today
Eight Los Angeles Angels pitchers combined to no-hit the Seattle Mariners for a 4-0 Cactus League win at Tempe Diablo Stadium, one year ago today.
The feat mrked the second no-hitter of the 2017 spring training season, with the New York Yankees no-hitting the Detroit Tigers just a week earlier.
The Angels’ Bud Norris began the game by throwing two perfect innings, and Jose Alvarez, Cam Bedrosian, Andrew Bailey, Austin Adams, Drew Gagnon, Justin Anderson and Abel De Los Santos each followed with single no-hit innings.
All three ninth-inning outs were nail-biters. First baseman C.J. Cron made a diving play and tossed to a covering Anderson for the first out, and right fielder Shane Robinson followed with a diving catch on a short liner. Then, third baseman Sherman Johnson made a diving stop and threw to Cron to complete the no-no.
The effort marked the most pitchers used for a nine-inning spring training no-hitter. In 2015, nine Atlanta Braves combined to throw a 10-inning no-hitter against the Houston Astros. That game ended in a 2-2 tie.
March 23, 2018
Happy birthday, Mark Buehrle
Wishing a happy 39th birthday to Mark Buehrle, who threw a no-hitter and a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox.
Buehrle no-hit the Texas Rangers on April 18, 2007, for a 6-0 victory at U.S. Cellular Field while facing the minimum 27 batters. Buehrle had picked off Sammy Sosa from first after the designated hitter drew a fifth inning walk.
Then on July 23, 2009, the 6-foot-2 southpaw threw a perfect game at home against the Tampa Bay Rays for a 5-0 win. That game actually marked the third time that Buehrle faced the minimum 27 batters for a complete-game victory, and he is the only major league pitcher to accomplish that feat.
Buehrle’s lesser-known 27-up, 27-down performance was on July 21, 2004, when he threw a two-hit, 14-0 complete game against the Cleveland Indians. Buehrle was perfect through 6⅓ until Omar Vizquel singled with one out in the seventh. Vizquel was retired when Matt Lawton grounded into an inning-ending double play. The next inning, pinch-hitter Tim Laker led off with a single, but Casey Blake doubled him up. Buehrle completed the effort, throwing just 90 pitches (67 for strikes).
Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index shows 33 games in which a starter threw a complete game, faced the minimum 27 batters yet gave up at least one hit. Sixteen were one-hitters, 10 were two-hitters and six were three-hitters. Only John Candelaria has accomplished this rare feat while yielding four hits.
March 22, 2018
Marlins no-hit Tigers, 9 years ago today
Three Florida Marlins pitchers threw a spring training no-hitter, nine years ago today.
On Sunday, March 22, 2009, Ricky Nolasco threw seven innings of no-hit ball and Dan Meyer and Leo Nuñez (whose real name was later revealed to be Juan Carlos Oviedo) each tossed one no-hit inning to lead the Marlins to a 2-0 no-hit victory over the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium.
