Pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz were elected into the Hall of Fame, one year ago today. Johnson, who won 303 games and lost 166 over a 22-year-career, threw two no-hitters. His first was a 1990 no-no for the Seattle Mariners, the first in that franchise’s history. His second was a 2004 perfect…
Happy 51st birthday to Juan Nieves, who threw the only no-hitter in Milwaukee Brewers history. Nieves, who was born in the Santurce section of San Juan, is the first Puerto Rico-born pitcher to throw a major-league no-hitter. At Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium on Wednesday, April 15, 1987, Nieves no-hit the Orioles for a 7-0 win. The…
No-no thrower Bill Dinneen jumped from the National League’s Boston Beaneaters to the AL’s Boston Americans, 114 years ago today. Dinneen began his major league career with the National League’s now-defunct Washington Senators in 1898 before pitching for the Beaneaters (now the Braves) in 1900 and 1901. His no-hitter for the Boston Americans (now the…
Happy 39th birthday to A.J. Burnett, who threw the Florida Marlins’ third no-hitter in their brief nine-year history in 2001. At Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday, May 12, 2001, Burnett no-hit the San Diego Padres for a 3-0 win despite facing 36 Padres batters. Burnett walked nine and broke Padres second-baseman Damian Jackson’s thumb by hitting…
Happy 53rd birthday to David Cone, a New York Mets fan favorite who threw a perfect game for the crosstown Yankees in 1999. On Sunday, July 18, 1999, in an interleague game in the Bronx, Cone shut down the Montreal Expos lineup for a 6-0 win, retiring every Expos batter he faced. It was “Yogi…
Happy New Year, and Happy 146th Birthday to Charles “Bumpus” Jones, who threw a no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in his first major league appearance. Reds player-manager Charles Comiskey, who had watched Jones pitch well in an 1892 exhibition, gave Jones the opportunity to pitch Cincinnati’s final game of the ’92 season on Saturday, October…