Dirk Lammers's Blog, page 99
March 5, 2016
Happy 128th birthday to no-no pitcher Jeff Tesreau
Celebrating a no-no birthday today is Jeff Tesreau, who threw a no-hitter for the New York Giants back in 1912.
Tesreau, a 6-foot-2 right-hander from Ironton, Missouri, shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 during the first game of a September 6 doubleheader at National League Park.
The scorecard initially credited Phillies leadoff batter Dode Paskert with a first-inning hit, but the official scorer changed his ruling after the game to give Tesreau the no-no. The disputed play was Paskert’s short fly ball near home plate that dropped between first baseman Fred Merkle and catcher Art Wilson
“Each fielder got under the ball,” noted a story in the Washington Post. “Then fearing a collision, they permitted the ball to drop to the ground.”
March 4, 2016
Happy birthday “Dazzy” Vance, threw Brooklyn no-no in ’25
Charles “Dazzy” VanceHappy 125th birthday to Charles “Dazzy” Vance, who threw a no-hitter for the Brooklyn Robins in 1925.
The Hall of Famer beat Philadelphia 10-1 in the first game of a September 13, 1925 doubleheader at Ebbets Field while holding the Phillies to no hits. The Phillies scored their lone run on two Brooklyn errors and a sacrifice fly.
The no-hitter actually completed 15⅔ consecutive no-hit innings for Vance, who threw a one-hit shutout against the same Phillies five days earlier. The only hit in the earlier game came with one out in the second inning.
Vance was only able to extend his streak to an even 16 in his next start, as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Max Carey reached base on a one-out but single in the first inning.
Vance died in 1961 at the age of 69.
March 3, 2016
Happy birthday perfecto thrower John Montgomery Ward
John Montgomery Ward, who threw the majors’ second perfect game in 1880, was born 156 years ago today.
Ward threw his perfecto for the National League’s Providence Grays on June 17, 1880, shutting out the Buffalo Bisons 5-0 at the Messer Street Grounds in Providence.
Beating him to the punch five days earlier was Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs, who threw a June 12 perfect game against the Cleveland Blues at Worcester Driving Park Grounds.
Ward’s was the second of 23 perfect games, with the most recent being thrown by Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012.
March 2, 2016
Miami Hurricanes avoid no-hitter vs. Gators, extend streak
Phil Niekro threw 3 innings of a Milwaukee Braves exhibition no-hitter against the University of Miami Hurricanes in February 1964.The Miami Hurricanes narrowly avoided falling victim to a no-hitter on Sunday, extending the school’s 52-year-old no-hit streak to 3,181 games.
In the ninth inning of the Canes’ game against the Florida Gators, Carl Chester led off by reaching base on an error before Chris Barr lined a single over short, according to the Miami Herald. The comeback attempt fell short at Mark Light Field as Florida topped Miami 7-3.
The last time the Hurricanes were no-hit was on April 18, 1964, when Florida Southern’s Ken Huebner no-hit Miami in Lakeland.
But there was also a lesser-known no-no against the Hurricanes earlier that year. On Saturday, February 29, 1964, three Milwaukee Braves pitchers no-hit the Hurricanes for a 1-0 win during an exhibition at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. Those pitchers were Dick Kelley (3 innings), Larry Maxie (3 innings) and a young rookie named Phil Niekro (3 innings).
The Canes got beat 5-1 during an exhibition game against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday. The squad looks to extend its college no-hit streak to 3,182 Wednesday night at home against Florida Gulf Coast University.
March 1, 2016
Happy birthday to Mark Gardner, who threw 9 no-hit innings in ’91
Happy 54th birthday to San Francisco Giants pitching coach Mark Gardner, who threw nine no-hit innings in 1991 but lost the game in extra innings.
Pitching at Dodger Stadium on Friday, July 26, 1991, Gardner no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers through nine, but the Montreal Expos couldn’t score a run, leaving the game locked in a scoreless tie. Gardner lost his no-no when Lenny Harris led off the 10th by chopping a blooper over the mound that shortstop Spike Owen couldn’t get to in time.
Gardner allowed Eddie Murray to single before Manager Tom Runnells placed a call to the bullpen for Jeff Fassero.
Up came Darryl Strawberry, and he poked a singled to left to drive in Harris and give the Dodgers a 1-0 win. Gardner was charged with the loss, as he had responsibility for the base runner. Watch it all here:
Click here to view the embedded video.
February 29, 2016
Varitek, catcher of 4 no-nos, announces retirement 4 years ago today
Four years ago today, on March 1, 2012, Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek announced his retirement.
Varitek was the first major league catcher behind the plate for four no-hitters. (Carlos Ruiz tied the record in 2015). Here are Varitek’s four:
1
Hideo Nomo
Boston Red Sox (AL)
Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Boston Red Sox 3, Baltimore Orioles 0
Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore)
(His second of two no-hitters)
2
Derek Lowe
Boston Red Sox (AL)
Saturday, April 27, 2002
Boston Red Sox 10, Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0
Fenway Park (Boston)
3
Clay Buchholz
Boston Red Sox (AL)
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Boston Red Sox 10, Baltimore Orioles 0
Fenway Park (Boston)
4
Jon Lester
Boston Red Sox (AL)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Boston Red Sox 7, Kansas City Royals 0
Fenway Park (Boston)
A pair of perfect games for Mookie
Mookie Betts (Photo from Professional Bowlers Association)No major-league pitcher has ever thrown two perfect games in a year, but one major-league outfielder has bowled two of them.
The Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts has notched two 300s this off-season on the alleys, setting a mark that no MLB hurler has matched on the mound.
For a list of the 23 non-bowling perfect games in MLB history, click here.
February 28, 2016
Koufax, Drysdale begin holdout, 50 years ago today
Drysdale and KoufaxFifty years ago today, Los Angeles Dodgers aces Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale refused to report to camp in Vero Beach, Florida, and began their holdout for a multi-year deal giving them a total of $1 million.
The dispute was apparently over the length of the contract more than the pitchers’ potential $167,000 annual salaries, which would have surpassed Willie Mays’ $125,000 yearly draw from the San Francisco Giants.
Dodgers General Manager Buzzie Bavasi told reporters it would be the last time he discussed the situation until he had a chance to negotiate with the pitchers.
“Koufax and Drysdale are entitled to everything they can get, but under no circumstances would any player on this club get more than a one-year contract,” Bavasi told the AP.
The pitchers eventually rejoined the Dodgers during the last week of Spring Training, with Koufax equaling Mays’ salary of $125,000 and Drysdale earning $110,000.
Koufax announced his retirement after the 1966 season. Here are his four Dodgers no-nos:
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.)
(Featured image Dodger Town, Vero Beach, Florida by adamclyde licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0)
February 27, 2016
Baró and Smith, threw Negro Leagues no-hitters, born on this date
Hilton Smith was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001Hilton Smith and Bernardo Baró, two Negro League pitchers who threw no-hitters, were both born on this date.
Baró, born on this date in 1896 in Cárdenas, Cuba, tossed a no-no for the Cuban Stars of Havana during the first game of a Sunday doubleheader on July 21, 1918. Baró held the Indianapolis ABCs hitless for an 11-0 win.
Smith, born on this date in 1907 in Giddings, Texas, threw the first Negro American League no-hitter as a member of the Kansas City Monarchs. During the first game of a Sunday doubleheader on May 16, 1937, Smith no-hit the Chicago American Giants for a 4-0 win.
Happy 32nd birthday, Anibal Sánchez
Happy 32nd birthday to the Detroit Tigers’ Anibal Sánchez, who threw a no-hitter for the Florida Marlins in 2006.
On Wednesday, September 6, 2006, Sánchez no-hit the Arizona Diamondbacks for a 2-0 win at Pro Player Stadium. His feat broke the longest no-hitter drought in Major League baseball history in terms of number of games played, with the games between Randy Johnson’s 2004 perfect game and Sánchez’s 2006 no-no reaching 6,364.
Sanchez nearly had a second no-hitter for the Tigers last season.
On July 3, 2015, Sánchez took a no-no against the Toronto Blue Jays into the eighth inning, but former Tiger Ezequiel Cabrera broke up the bid with a one-out single to left field. The Blue Jays went on to score six runs in the inning, but the Tigers held on an 8-6 victory.
(Featured image Dolphin Stadium by Richard Lopez, cropped, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0)
