Major League Baseball lowered the pitcher’s mound height from 15 inches to 10 inches, 47 years ago today. The rule change was part of a response to the issue of pitching becoming too dominant in the NL and AL, as evidenced by five no-hitters thrown during the ’68 season: 163 Tom Phoebus Baltimore Orioles…
Darryl Kile, who threw a no-hitter for the Houston Astros in 1993, was born 47 years ago today. Kile struck out nine while walking one in the Wednesday, September 8, 1993, game at the Astrodome in which the Astros won 7-1. Kile etired the first 10 Mets batters, but the New York Mets got their…
Happy 88th birthday to the legendary Vin Scully, who has called far more no-hitters than any other baseball broadcaster. Scully has sat behind the microphone for an unprecedented 20 no-hitters and three perfect games over his 65 year career. The longtime Dodgers play caller, who was born in the Bronx, announced earlier this year that…
The Cincinnati Reds’ Jake Weimer, who threw a 7-inning no-hitter in 1906, was born 142 years ago today. During the second game of a Friday doubleheader on August 24, 1906, Weimer no-hit the Brooklyn Superbas at the Palace of the Fans during a planned seven-inning nightcap. “The second game was a case of ‘nothing doing’…
My book, Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders: More than a Century of Pitching’s Greatest Feats (Unbridled Books), debuts in March and is available for preorder. The book honors such legendary pitchers as Cy Young, Bob Feller, Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax, while introducing readers to other eccentrics and one-shot wonders who have thrown no-hitters. TODAY ONLY —…
Ken Johnson, the only major league pitcher to throw a nine-inning no-hitter yet lose, died Saturday in Pineville, Louisiana, at the age of 82. I had the honor of interviewing Johnson on May 2014 as I was just beginning to write Baseball’s No-Hit Wonders. He talked with me about that April 23, 1964 Houston Colt…