Mets No-Hitters history at NoNoHitters.com

The Mets and starter John Maine have agreed to terms of a contract, MLB.com is reporting.

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.

Just settling in back home after a great trek out to New York/New Jersey that included a trip to Citi Field for Santana and the Mets’ 7-0 shutout of the Colorado Rockies.

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.

The Philadelphia Phillies introduced the newest member of their pitching staff Wednesday, and this has all the makings of a potential new entry for our No-hitters … after they left the Mets page.

Pedro Martinez signed a one-year, $1 million contract, a half season after the Mets decided to let him go thinking he had nothing left in the tank. Despite once starting a game by retiring the first 27 batters, Pedro has never had a no-hitter – and he’d love nothing more than to add that to his resume after the Mets gave up on him.

On June 3, 1995, as a Montreal Expo, Martinez shut down the first 27 San Diego Padre hitters he faced, but would not be credited with a perfect game. The Expos offense couldn’t score a run for their pitcher until the top of the 10th, and Martínez surrendered a leadoff double in the bottom of the 10th. Reliever Mel Rojas came in to retire the next three batters for a combined 10-inning one-hitter.

Will Martinez join the ranks of Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Mike Scott, Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Hideo Nomo? Stay tuned.

Hey Mets, this is how it’s done!

The San Francisco Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres Friday night, the first Major League no-no this season.

Sanchez nearly had a perfect game, striking out 11 and walking none. The Padres’ only baserunner was Chase Headley, who reached first on an error by third baseman Juan Uribe. Center fielder Aaron Rowand saved the day in the ninth with a leaping catch at the wall on a deep fly hit by pinch-hitter Edgar Gonzalez.

The Padres were on the negative side of a no-hitter for the seventh time since beginning play in 1969. San Diego, of course, is one of only four Major League teams to have never pitched a no-hitter, and the Padres count is up to 6,441, trailing the Mets by 1,126 games.

It was the Giants’ first no-hitter since Sept. 29, 1976, when John Montefusco no-hit the Atlanta Braves during a 9-0 victory. The one before that was against the Mets on Aug. 24, 1975.

The Mets actually had 12 hits the day that San Francisco Giants pitcher El Halicki hurled his no-hitter against the team. Unfortunately, all 12 hits came in the first game of the doubleheader at Candlestick Park. The Mets won the opener 9-5, thanks in part to a fifth-inning Grand Slam by Dave Kingman.

Halicki struck out 10 and walked 2 in the nightcap, which turned a bit controversial in the fifth inning when the Mets’ Rusty Staub hit a line drive up the middle.

The ball ricocheted off of Halicki’ shin and rolled to second baseman Derrel Thomas. Thomas bobbled it before throwing to first, allowing the far-from-fleet-footed Grande L’Orange to beat the throw. The official scorer received cheers when he ruled the play an E4, a call that New York Daily News columnist Dick Young took issue with. Halicki has since said he thought the call was correct.

31 years ago today on June 16, 1978 – a year and a day after a trade that would go down in Mets infamy – Tom Seaver pitched his first and only no-hitter of his career while wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform.

Seaver, who had been dealt by the Mets to the Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman, defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0, walking three batters along the way. He lost his perfect game in the second inning by issuing a walk to Mets announcer Keith Hernandez.

Considering that Seaver returned to the Mets for the 1983 season, he’s actually the only Met to pitch a no-hitter between two stints with the Mets.

Hideo Nomo, a Met for 17 games in 1998, holds the distinction of being the only player to pitch no-hitters both before and after his time with the Mets, as a member of the Dodgers and the Red Sox.

Steve Politi of the Newark Star-Ledger had a great column about the Mets’ dubious no no-hitters streak today in which I was quoted about this site.

Politi interviewed Jimmy Qualls, who hit a ninth-inning, one-out single to break up Tom Seaver’s perfect game on July 9, 1969. Said Mets’ announcer Ralph Kiner at the time, “A clean hit to left-center-field, and there goes the perfect game.” The Mets would win 4-0 and go on to win their first World Series that year, but little did the 59,000 fans who packed Shea Stadium that night know that 40 years and one stadium later, we’d continue to be so disappointed.

I had seen Qualls quoted a couple of times before, but it was interesting that he had not been aware that the Mets have never had a no-hitter until that interview.

Seaver would eventually go on to get a no-no as a Cincinnati Red, but not before having two more near misses as a Met:

• July 4, 1972 – Mets 2, San Diego Padres 0 – ninth-inning, one-out single by Leron Lee
• Sept. 24, 1975 – Mets 2, Chicago Cubs 0 – two-out, ninth-inning single by Joe Wallis (Seaver gave up two more hits in the 10th)

I can’t wait until Johan Santana takes one into the eighth or ninth inning like Seaver, even if the end result is similar.

Our NoNoHitters.com count for Memorial Day weekend is going to be a little vague.

After toiling through several days of late-night dropped liners, baserunning gaffes and wide throws during the Mets-Dodgers series, I’m taking a few games off to regroup without a TV, computer or heavy sighs and curses (I think this week set a new record in that department.)

I realize I’m taking a chance that the first Mets no-hitter could happen while I’m camping, but with 7,522 no-no free games under our belt, I’m willing to take that chance.

So our latest count is either 7,522, 7,523, 7,524 or 7,525, or congratulations Johan, Mike or Tim on throwing the first no-no in team history. We’ll sort everything out when we get back.

The Tampa Bay Rays, one of only four Major League franchises with no no-hitters in their history, nearly resigned from that exclusive club Thursday night.

Tampa’s Matt Garza was perfect through six, losing his no-no when Jacob Ellsbury led off the seventh inning with a trickler through the mound for an infield hit. It would be the Boston Red Sox’ only hit on the night in which the Rays won 13-0.

The hit advanced the Rays’ no no-nos count to 1,802 games – still a far cry from the Mets’ 7,503 games – but a streak nonetheless. Here’s the latest on the Mets’ other no no-nos brethren:

• San Diego Padres: 6,737 games
• Colorado Rockies: 2,550 games