Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com had a great column today on the Mets’ destiny to never throw a no-no.
Check it out!
Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com had a great column today on the Mets’ destiny to never throw a no-no.
Check it out!
Armando Galarraga’s unrecognized perfect game currently sits in the record books as a 28-batter one-hitter, but despite this site’s statistical slant I’d like to take a look at this from a human element.
Sports often can bring out the worst in people, so it’s such a nice surprise to see how the different actors in this near-perfecto tragedy played their parts.
After umpire Jim Joyce motioned the safe sign to strip Galarraga of the perfect game he rightfully deserved, Galarraga just stood there smiling as if thinking “freakin’ unbelievable” (or something worse). Yet he strolled back to the mound, got the final out and later tipped his hat to the crowd.
His teammates and manager took a different tact, but they were sticking up for their guy, which is more than understandable in that circumstance.
Then Joyce, after realizing the call was wrong, sought out both Galarraga and Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland to personally apologize and admit his mistake. In a heavily bleeped radio interview given later, Joyce essentially said: I screwed up, I feel terrible and the kid deserved that moment in history. It would be nice if that stand-up-and-take-responsibility response were the norm, but it’s not, and it took guts.
In a post-game interview, Galarraga, showing no sign of bitterness, recognized Joyce for the gesture.
Two class acts, in my opinion.
Now it remains to be seen if baseball – specifically Bud Selig – will do the right thing, which would clearly be to grant Galarraga his perfect game.
There is already precendent for changing the record books related to no-nos, though in 1991 it went the other way.
That’s when the Committee on 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. That leaves 266 sanctioned no-hitters, 243 in the A.L. and N.L. The stringent definition eliminated 38 no-hitters from the books that were shortened by rain or darkness and losing efforts by the away team in which the home team doesn’t bat in the bottom of the ninth.
(See our Close, but no cigar: No-hitters not officially recognized page for more details and a list for these now unrecognized efforts.)
We’ll probably make Galarraga the poster child for this page if he doesn’t get his kudos.
John Maine becomes the 13th Mets starter to be pulled with a no-hitter intact. See our Pulled during a no-hitterpage for details.
The Mets’ Pagan-Blanco-Reyes-Davis triple play against the Nationals on Wednesday night was the team’s 10th TP in its 48-plus year history.
Here’s the full list, with some research help from the The Society For American Baseball Research and Retrosheet:
May 30, 1962, Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets
6-4-3 triple play in top of the sixth inning
The Dodgers’ Willie Davis lines out to Mets shortstop Elio Chacon, who makes a leaping catch and throws to second-baseman Charlie Neal, who doubles up Maury Wills and throws to first-baseman Gil Hodges, who catches Jim Gilliam off first.
May 31, 1964, San Francisco Giants at New York Mets (23-inning game)
6-6-3 triple play in the top of the 14th inning
Orlando Cepeda lines out to shortstop Roy McMillan, who steps on second to double up Jesus Alou, then throws to first-baseman Ed Kranepool to catch Willie Mays off first.
April 15, 1965, Houston Astros at New York Mets
9-2-6 triple play in the top of the 2nd inning
Jimmy Wynn hits a fly ball to right-fielder Johnny Lewis, who catches the ball and throws home to catcher Chris Cannizzaro, who tags out Walt Bond after tagged up and tried to score from third, then Cannizzaro throws to shortstop Roy McMillan, who nabs Bob Aspromonte while he was trying to decide whether to advance from first.
Sept. 28, 1966, Chicago Cubs at New York Mets
5-4-3 triple play in the top of the 6th inning
Joey Amalfitano lines out to third-baseman Eddie Bressoud, who throws to second-baseman Chuck Hiller, who doubles up John Boccabella and throws to first-baseman Jim Hickman, who catches Ron Campbell off first.
Aug. 3, 1982 New York Mets at Chicago Cubs
6-4-3 triple play in the bottom of the 8th inning
Larry Bowa hits a fly ball to shortstop Bob Bailor, who flips the ball to second-baseman Wally Backman to double up Jay Johnstone, and Backman throws over to first-baseman Dave Kingman, who catches Gary Woods off first.
Sept. 29, 1982, Chicago Cubs at New York Mets
4-4-3 triple play in the top of the third inning
Keith Moreland hits a grounder to second-baseman Brian Giles, who tags Bill Buckner as he was running from second, steps on second base to force Jay Johnstone from first, then throws to first-baseman Rusty Staub to get Moreland.
June 6, 1989, New York Mets at Chicago Cubs
3-6-3 triple play in the bottom of the fifth inning
First-baseman Dave Magadan fields Vance Law’s hard-hit short-hopper and tags Lloyd McClendon running from first, throws to shortstop Kevin Elster who gets Damon Berryhill from second, then throws back to Magadan to get Law.
Aug. 5, 1998, San Francisco Giants at New York mets
3-6-3-2 triple play in the top of the fifth inning
J.T. Snow hits a hard grounder to first baseman John Olerud, who checks Barry Bonds at third and then throws to shortstop Rey Ordonez to force Jeff Kent running from first. Ordonez fake throws home to hold Bonds and then throws to Olerud to get the batter, then Olerud throws home to get Bonds.
May 17, 2002, New York Mets at San Diego Padres
5-4-3 triple play in the bottom of the fifth inning
Wiki Gonzalez grounds to third-baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, who who steps on the bag to force Deivi Cruz from second and throws to second-baseman Roberto Alomar to force Sean Burroughs from first, then Alomar throws to first-baseman Mo Vaughn to get Gonzalez.
May 19, 2010, New York Mets at Washington Nationals
8-2-6-3 triple play in the fifth inning
With the Nationals’ Livan Hernandez at second and Nyjer Morgan at first, Washington sent the runners while Cristian Guzman hit a short fly ball center. Angel Pagan hustled in to make a great shoestring catch, and Hernandez was already standing on third and Morgan on second when Pagan tossed the ball toward shortstop Jose Reyes in an effort to begin the sequence. Pagan’s errant throw sailed past Reyes and landed near the mound, but both runners stood still as if confused about whether it was indeed a catch. Mets’ catcher Henry Blanco picked up the ball, threw to Reyes for out No. 2 and then to Ike Davis at first for out No. 3. One of the umpires was about to rule it a single (it was clearly a catch), but a colleague overruled him and signaled three punch outs for the triple-play.
It’s well known around these parts that the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays and San Diego Padres are the only three MLB franchises with no no-hitter (Ubaldo Jimenez got the Rockies out of that exclusive club this season).
But as I was updating the site’s pages today after the Oakland Athletics’ Dallas Braden’s threw his perfect game, I came across a tidbit of information that really illustrates the Mets’ no-no woes:
The New York Mets have played a little over 48 years in the National League and have never had a no-hitter. … the Louisville Eclipse (later renamed the Colonels) played 17 years in the American Association and the National League from 1882 through 1899 and have thrown four no-hitters.
That’s right … Louisville, which lasted about a third as long as the Mets, had four more no-hitters. That’s kind of sad, isn’t it?
And, the Eclipse/Colonels are just one of 16 defunct franchises that have thrown a total of 24 no-nos. Here’s the full list:
When the Mets took the field Tuesday for a true doubleheader, NoNoHitters.com reader Mike posed the question of how many no-hitters have been thrown during doubleheaders. He was wondering if there is a greater chance of a pitcher throwing one in a Game 2 when fatigue sets in and back-up players are more likely to find their way into the lineup.
Well we checked the record books and found that of the 264 no-hitters sanctioned by the baseball gods, 39 of them have been thrown as part of twinbills. And, oddly enough, pitchers threw more no-nos in openers than nightcaps. Of the 39, 23 happened during Game 1s while just 16 occurred in Game 2s.
Here are some other interesting twinbill no-no tidbits:
Here’s the full list of the 39 no-hitters pitched as part of Major League Baseball doubleheaders:
| Pitcher | Date | Lg. | Team | Opponent | ||
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| Ted Breitenstein | Oct. 4, 1891 (1) | AA | St. Louis Browns | 8 | Louisville Colonels | 0 |
| First career start, Game 1 of doubleheader on last day of season
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| Cy Young | Sept. 18, 1897 (1) | NL | Cleveland Spiders | 6 | Cincinnati Reds | 0 |
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| Walter Thornton | Aug. 21, 1898 (2) | NL | Chicago Orphans | 2 | Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 0 |
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| Jimmy “Nixey” Callahan | Sept. 20, 1902 (1) | AL | Chicago White Sox | 3 | Detroit Tigers | 0 |
| First American League no hitter
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| Chick Fraser | Sept. 18, 1903 (2) | NL | Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | Chicago Cubs | 0 |
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| Weldon Henley | July 22, 1905 (1) | AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 6 | St. Louis Browns | 0 |
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| Frank Smith | Sept. 6, 1905 (2) | AL | Chicago White Sox | 15 | Detroit Tigers | 0 |
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| Bill Dineen | Sept. 27, 1905 (1) | AL | Boston Pilgrams | 2 | Chicago White Sox | 0 |
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| Hooks Wiltse | July 4, 1908 (1) | NL | New York Giants | 1 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0 |
| 10-inning no hitter.
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| Nap Rucker | Sept. 5, 1908 (2) | NL | Brooklyn Superbas | 6 | Boston Doves | 0 |
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| “Smokey” Joe Wood | July 29, 1911 (1) | AL | Boston Red Sox | 5 | St. Louis Browns | 0 |
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| George Mullin | July 4, 1912 (2) | AL | Detroit Tigers | 7 | St. Louis Browns | 0 |
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| Jeff Tesreau | Sept. 6, 1912 (1) | NL | New York Giants | 3 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0 |
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| George Davis | Sept. 9, 1914 (2) | NL | Boston Braves | 7 | Philadelphia Phillies | 0 |
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| Jimmy Lavender | Aug. 31, 1915 (1) | NL | Chicago Cubs | 2 | New York Giants | 0 |
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| Bob Groom | May 6, 1917 (2) | AL | St. Louis Browns | 3 | Chicago White Sox | 0 |
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| Babe Ruth (0 in) Ernie Shore (9 in) |
June 23, 1917 (1) | AL | Boston Red Sox | 4 | Washington Senators | 0 |
| First no hitter to feature more than one pitcher, Ruth was ejected for arguing with ump after walking first batter. Shore picked the runner off of first and then retired the next 26 batters.
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| Ray Caldwell | Sept. 10, 1919 (1) | AL | Cleveland Indians | 3 | New York Yankees | 0 |
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| Dazzy Vance | Sept. 13, 1925 (1) | NL | Brooklyn Robins | 10 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1 |
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| Paul Dean | Sept. 21, 1934 (2) | NL | St. Louis Cardinals | 3 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 0 |
| Dean breaks the longest no-hitter drought in Major League baseball history in terms of game days (535), a record that stands today.
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| Monte Pearson | Aug. 27, 1938 (2) | AL | New York Yankees | 13 | Cleveland Indians | 0 |
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| Dick Fowler | Sept. 9, 1945 (2) | AL | Philadelphia Athletics | 1 | St. Louis Browns | 0 |
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| Don Black | July 10, 1947 (1) | AL | Cleveland Indians | 3 | Philadelphia Athletics | 0 |
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| Cliff Chambers | May 6, 1951 (2) | NL | Pittsburgh Pirates | 3 | Boston Braves | 0 |
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| Bob Feller | July 1, 1951 (1) | AL | Cleveland Indians | 2 | Detroit Tigers | 1 |
| Ties Larry Corcoran and Cy Young for most no-hitters with three, a record that would be broken by Sandy Koufax in 1965.
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| Allie Reynolds | Sept. 28, 1951 (1) | AL | New York Yankees | 8 | Boston Red Sox | 0 |
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| Bob Keegan | Aug. 20, 1957 (1) | AL | Chicago White Sox | 6 | Washington Senators | 0 |
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| Jim Bunning | July 20, 1958 (1) | AL | Detroit Tigers | 3 | Boston Red Sox | 0 |
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| Don Cardwell | May 15, 1960 (2) | NL | Chicago Cubs | 4 | St. Louis Cardinals | 0 |
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| Jim Bunning | June 21, 1964 (1) | NL | Philadelphia Phillies | 6 | New York Mets | 0 |
| This perfect game was the first no hitter thrown at Shea. It was game one of a Father’s Day doubleheader and my dad was there. The accomplishment ended a 58-year, 1-month, 18-day no-hitter drought for the Phillies, still the longest team drought for any franchise.
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| Jim Maloney | Aug. 19, 1965 (1) | NL | Cincinnati Reds | 1 | Chicago Cubs | 0 |
| 10 inning game.
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| Steve Barber (8 2/3 in) Stu Miller (1/3 in) |
April 30, 1967 (1) | AL | Baltimore Orioles | 1 | Detroit Tigers | 2 |
| Barber and Miller combined for a loss.
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| Dean Chance | Aug. 25, 1967 (2) | AL | Minnesota Twins | 2 | Cleveland Indians | 1 |
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| Joel Horlen | Sept. 10, 1967 (1) | AL | Chicago White Sox | 6 | Detroit Tigers | 0 |
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| George Culver | July 29, 1968 (2) | NL | Cincinnati Reds | 6 | Philadelphia Phillies | 1 |
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| Dock Ellis | June 12, 1970 (1) | NL | Pittsburgh Pirates | 2 | San Diego Padres | 0 |
| Ellis was tripping on LSD when he pitched this no hitter.
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| Bill Stoneman | Oct. 2, 1972 (1) | NL | Montreal Expos | 7 | New York Mets | 0 |
| Fourth no hitter thrown against the Mets.
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| Ed Halicki | Aug. 24, 1975 (2) | NL | San Francisco Giants | 6 | New York Mets | 0 |
| No hitter No. 5 thrown against the Mets.
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| Charlie Lea | May 10, 1981 (2) | NL | Montreal Expos | 4 | San Francisco Giants | 0 |
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AA – American Association |
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Maine
That means the right-hander will return to the rotation with the opportunity to throw the first no-hitter in franchise history. Maine currently holds the third-place slot in our non-scientific sidebar poll of who will accomplish the feat. Johan Santana leads with 40 percent of our readers’ votes, trailed by “Some other guy” with 25 percent and Maine with 13 percent.
Forty-six years ago today, on Aug. 7, 1963, Jim Hickman became the first New York Met to hit for the cycle, accomplishing a feat nearly as rare as a no-hitter.
Hickman’s accomplishment at the Polo Grounds is considered a natural cycle, because he hit his single, double, triple and home run in that order during the Mets 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals – a rare victory during a 51-111 season.
Hickman led off the game with a single, doubled in the second, tripled home Mets picher Tracy Stallard in the fourth and led off the sixth with a solo home run. He got a chance to make it a 5-for-5 day in the eighth but flied out to left.
Although no Met has thrown a no-no during the team’s 47-plus years of existence, eight other Mets have gone on to hit for the cycle: Tommie Agee (July 6, 1970), Mike Phillips (June 25, 1976), Keith Hernandez (July 4, 1985), Kevin McReynolds (Aug. 1, 1989), Alex Ochoa (July 3, 1996), John Olerud (Sept. 11, 1997), Eric Valent (July 29, 2004) and Jose Reyes (June 21, 2006).
So to summarize, the Mets own 0 of the 240 sanctioned Major League no-hitters, yet 9 of the 287 hits for cycle in Major League history. So in Mets history, the no-hitter is MUCH more rare than the cycle.
For the record, only three teams (the San Diego Padres, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Florida Marlins) have never had a player hit for cycle. The Padres and the Rays are the only franchises void of a no-hitter or cycle, while the Colorado Rockies have had a cycle but no no-hitter.
We have a new addition to our No-hitters thrown before they came to the Mets page, though the accomplishment happened 15 years ago.
An oversight had omitted Scott Erickson, who threw a no-no as a Minnesota Twin on April 27, 1994, during a 6-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
We had forgotten that Erickson in 2004 made two starts for the Mets, and the oversight is not entirely surprising considering that preseason injuries kept him from ever taking his spot in the starting rotation. (Thanks to Jim for outpointing.)
Erickson finally took the mound for the Mets in July 2004 but went 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA in his only two starts. That prompted the club to deal him to the Texas Rangers on July 31, 2004 for player-to-be-named-later Josh Hoffpauir.
Huge thanks to Dave Mackey for posting the game reviews while I was out of cell coverage camping upstate on Romer Mountain in Phoenicia.
Mets Weekly dropped by our seats at Citi last Thursday for an upcoming feature on the site and the Mets’ 47-year-old no no hitters streak. I’m told it might air Saturday or during a subsequent show on SNY. I honestly thought Santana was going to accomplish the impossible that day … at least until a relief pitcher (Josh Fogg) put a “1″ in the Rockies “H” column. I can’t remember the last time a relief pitcher killed a no-no.
Citi Field is great and it was nice to drop by and see the old Shea home run apple while touring all the perks the new stadium had to offer. There were no Mets’ home runs that day, but our upper-deck seats were high enough to give us a peak at the top of the new apple in center field.
My sons and I also had a chance to visit the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown which boasts a wall of all of the Major League no-nos. Can’t wait to revisit someday to see Johan, Maine, Pelf, Livan or someone else donning a Mets cap up there.