Baseball’s annual Jackie Robinson Day tradition of dressing everyone in Robinson’s iconic No. 42 carries a side plot in the no-hitter world.
April 15 marks the only day that Sonny Siebert’s record of being the only pitcher to throw a no-no while wearing No. 42 can fall. Siebert, pitching for the Indians at Cleveland Stadium, on Friday, June 10, 1966, no-hit the Washington Senators for a 2-0 win. A walk and a Chico Salmon throwing error were the only things that kept Siebert from perfection.
Siebert can earn company in the No. 42 club with any no-hitter thrown today. And, in today’s era of pitch-count pulls early in the season, we could see the first combined no-hitter with every pitcher wearing No. 42.
